Master Plan
by lordtrayus
Summary: When an insidious alliance brings Team Rocket, Aqua and Magma together in order to unleash the power of the Legendary Pokemon, the heroes of the time must unite to save the world beofre it is ripped apart by the Teams quest for power.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

Alliance

A man with a blue bandana sat staring at the wall of his underwater base. Around him, the other members of his group were looking each other in sadness, anger and desperation.

He was a bulky man, with a black beard. His name was Archie, and he was the leader of Team Aqua, the group dedicated to expanding the seas of the world by harnessing the power of Kyogre, a Legendary Pokémon. They had recently made a significant stride to do so, however they had been foiled in their designs by a girl called Sapphire. She had defeated him soundly at Sootopolis City, and Kyogre had retreated back into the ocean. His plan foiled, he had fled with his team back to their underwater base, fearing that they had failed, and also that Team Magma had succeeded in expanding the land mass with another Legendary Pokémon called Groudon. However, his half-brother, Maxie, a stern red haired man, had been foiled too, this time by a boy named Ruby. As such, Groudon had returned to his home.

They didn't know what to do. Those two kids had foiled their plans, and many of both Team Aqua and Magma had been rounded up by the police since their defeat. Maxie had never been so down. Their plans lay in ruins, and he was sure that kid was searching for them to get the police to round the last of them up.

"What do we do Archie?" Shelly, one of his deputies, also wearing a blue bandana over her waist length red hair, asked dejectedly.

"I don't know. That brat ruined everything. And now the orbs are under lock and key, and we're on the run. It'll be years before we can strike again." He moaned.

Shelly pursed her lips. Many of their grunts were locked up in prison, and they didn't have enough money to get them out as they'd spent so much putting their plans into motion. Things were definitely very bad.

"Well why don't we go out and get revenge against that girl who caused all this?" she demanded.

Archie raised an eyebrow.

"Kidnap or kill a child? We did that Hoenn would see it as a sign that they should stop tolerating us and just crush us. The Elite Four would move in and crush us once and for all. Then we will have really failed."

Shelly grumbled. She had felt for years that Team Aqua should show it's enemies that it meant business. No more fancy footing and just get down and dirty.

"Boss..." Sean said.

He was a thin, skeletal man with a bald head under his bandana.

"This just arrived." He said, handing him a fax.

Archie took it curiously.

It was from the north, marked by Kanto's phone number.

_Greetings Archie of Team Aqua,_

_I am an ally. We have much the same goals, you and I. As such, I invite you and your three executives to my mansion outside Viridian City to discuss a mutually beneficial alliance._

_I hope to see you there,_

_Yours faithfully_

_Sir Tekcor_

"What do you suppose that's about?" Shelly asked.

Archie scratched his beard.

"I don't know. But it sounds like this guy is on our side. I say we go." He said.

The three executives nodded eagerly. Anything was better than sitting around here all day doing nothing. Matt, a big burly man had joined them, and they got into their sub and headed for the surface.

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Maxie pondered the fax he had been sent. This Sir Tekcor seemed legitimate enough, but you could never be too careful. He doubted it was the police, they didn't have the brains to do something like this.

"Well?" Hank, a blond haired man asked.

"Get your things. We're going to Kanto." Maxie said, and headed out.

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Viridian City was a bustling city of Kanto, home to the eight Pokémon Gym of the Indigo League. Maxie arrived by car, then was directed to the outskirts, along Route 22, and up a small road leading away from the Route. Half an hour later, they had reached a magnificent mansion, bright white in the sun. Pools flanked the entrance to the great house, which looked to be several stories high.

"Well that's definitely cost someone a lot of money." Matt grunted as he got out.

Archie looked up at the house. It was massive.

"This Sir Tekcor certainly seems like our sort of guy." Sean said greedily.

Another car was approaching, which pulled to a stop beside them. And out stepped Maxie.

"It's a Team Magma trap!" Shelly hissed, readying her Pokeball.

"Wait! We thought it was an Aqua trap! You got the fax too?" Maxie asked, raising a hand to keep his companions at bay.

"You didn't bring us here?" Archie demanded.

"No. And you obviously didn't bring us here. So, this Sir Tekcor must really exist." Maxie reasoned as the executives relaxed.

Archie nodded and shook Maxie's hand in greeting.

"How are you doing then?" Maxie asked.

"Bout the same as you really. Those kids caused far more hassle than they're worth." Archie grumbled as the executives fell into step behind him.

"I must agree there." Maxie said as they entered the open doors.

They entered a large hallway with a magnificent staircase leading to the higher floors facing them.

"Swish." Tabitha, another Magma executive commented.

"Thank you." A voice said from the top of the shadowy stairs.

A man clad in a black suit walked down, accompanied by a ferocious looking Persian. He had a thin, angular face, with wicked eyes and receding hair.

"Sir Tekcor?" Archie asked.

"Correct. But also known as Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket." He said, shaking hands with him and Maxie.

Both their eyes widened as the leader of Team Rocket led them up the stairs, then up another flight to enter a furnished boardroom, rounded with yew panels. They entered, looking around and feeling very wrong footed.

"Please." Giovanni said, and both leaders sat at the long table, facing him while the Executives stood behind their leaders.

"Why did you call us here Giovanni?" Maxie asked.

"Yes. Last anyone heard you were away in training." Archie said.

Giovanni nodded gravely.

"I went into training following a series of events quite like you just suffered. I was defeated several times by children, one named Blue and one named Red. They nearly broke Team Rocket. However, I noticed an opportunity and returned, to lead Team Rocket once more."

Archie and Maxie were perplexed. Giovanni had gone into training, but had suddenly returned, and was apparently willing to work with them for some as yet unknown purpose.

"Perhaps Giovanni you can backtrack a bit. We're rather flummoxed here." Maxie said gruffly.

Giovanni smiled slightly.

"Certainly. Well as you know four years ago Team Rocket's operations were bust open by the interference of those two meddlesome brats. When both defeated me, as I am the former Gym Leader of Viridian City, I decided to disband Team Rocket in order to improve myself. However, when I was away in training, my second in command, Apollo, decided to restart Team Rocket and try to take over Johto. Despite his initial success, he also failed and disbanded Team Rocket. Since then, the executives and I have been in training. Until now. You see, my sister Marissa was the only other active Team Rocket executive not in training. She took over the Viridian Gym recently from that brat Blue, as he went off to challenge Sharia. As such..."

Archie leant forward.

"Sharia? Someone is challenging her for the title of Supreme Master?" he demanded, aghast.

The Supreme Master was the ultimate Pokémon trainer in the world. Sharia had held the position for over fifty years. She had completed all the Pokedexes, had trained all her Pokémon to the best of her ability and governed the entire Pokémon world. The Elite Four, Gym Leaders and Champions all answered to her. Archie had heard tell that she had once taken on both the Kanto/Johto Elite Four and the Hoenn Elite Four and had defeated them all without a single Pokémon fainting.

"Yes, Sharia. I think they went there just to fight rather than try to take the title. Anyway, my sister took over Viridian Gym and immediately contacted me. She said she had found something the Blue boy had uncovered when he was Gym Leader. Naturally I was intrigued, so I returned to Kanto. And what she had found was very interesting."

Archie and Maxie were also interested now. Giovanni wasn't speaking slowly or loudly, but they were hanging on his every word.

"She found a text predicting that when all the Legendary Pokémon were combined on Birth Island, the power to control time would belong to the master of all those Pokémon."

"But...?" Shelly began, but Giovanni held up a hand, quelling her. He then activated a hologram in the middle of the room.

There were three lines, one a line of bird Pokémon, one a line of dog like Pokémon and one a line of rock like Pokémon.

"I'm sure you will recognise these nine. The birds are Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres, the three Legendary Bird Pokémon of Kanto. The next is Raikou, Entei and Suicune, the three Legendary Dogs of Johto. And next is Regirock, Registeel and Regice, the three Legendary Golems of Hoenn."

Archie and Maxie looked at each other, puzzled about where he was going with this.

The holo changed to show a tough cat like Pokémon.

"This is Mewtwo, created by my scientists. He is very powerful, and is cloned from Mew."

He then showed the little pink cat like Pokémon.

"That is Mew, apparently one of the oldest and most powerful Pokémon."

Next was a large white dragon with purple markings.

"That is Lugia, a powerful Water/Psychic type from Johto."

He showed a rainbow coloured bird next.

"Ho-Oh, who resurrected the three Dogs."

Next was a small green fairy like creature.

"Celebi, who I will return to later."

Next he showed a Pokémon both team members were familiar with.

"You know doubt recognise Groudon...and Kyogre." He said, changing them.

He then put up a long winding green dragon.

"That is Rayquaza, another Dragon type." He said.

He then flicked onto two nearly identical Pokémon, except one was red and one was blue.

"Latios and Latias, roaming Pokémon from Hoenn."

He then changed to another rock like Digimon, which was white with gold markings.

"This is one Marissa discovered in the Viridian Gym library. His name is Regigigas, and we do not know how powerful he is."

He changed to a small white Pokémon with a crown in the shape of a star.

"That is Jirachi, who I shall talk about later."

He then changed to show a stringy monkey like Pokémon.

"And that is Deoxys." He said, before shutting down the holo.

Maxie sat back and waved his hand airily.

"Very educational Giovanni, but what is the point in showing us this?"

Giovanni smiled wickedly.

"Celebi can control time. Deoxys can travel through time and space. And Jirachi can grant wishes." He said, his voice a deadly whisper.

"Your point?" Archie asked.

Maxie grinned in realisation.

"If we can take control of those three...we can then take control of all Pokémon with Jirachi, using time as our weapon." He said, impressed.

Giovanni nodded.

"Indeed. This is my proposal. We shall start slowly, building up our support and getting ready for conflict. As we shall need to take over the cities of all three regions to get the access we need to all the Gym libraries, where we can perhaps discern their hiding places. When we find where all these Pokémon hide, we shall use my Master Balls to capture them. We capture the Trios and their masters, and all the other legends, and gather them on Birth Island. We shall then bring forth Jirachi, Celebi and Deoxys. We will then go back through time to the first Pokémon and capture it. Then, we shall control all Pokémon throughout the centuries. And what is more, as we control all Pokémon, those meddlesome children wont be able to interfere with our plans. And when we rule all Pokémon, we shall rule all the regions. Team Rocket, Aqua and Magma will be the dominant forces in the world, and we shall achieve domination over Pokémon, the world and time all at once." Giovanni said in a sinister tone.

Archie grinned in delight.

"What do we get?" he asked.

Giovanni smiled.

"Firstly, I shall free your men from prison. Then, upon the conclusion of our enterprise, you shall control either Celebi, Deoxys or Jirachi, and either Kanto, Johto or Hoenn. And I daresay you'll want your respective Groudon or Kyogre, and you will of course control them, and all other types that go with them. For example you Archie could take Articuno, Suicune and Regice along with any others. We would be unstoppable."

Archie looked at his executives, who were smiling in excitement.

Maxie's looked on eagerly.

"Do we have an agreement?" Giovanni asked.

"You have a deal Giovanni. Henceforth, Team Aqua works with Rocket and Magma." Archie said, to Maxie's nods.

Giovanni shook on it, and smiled.

"Then we are in business. It will take us some time to get ready. We must accumulate supplies, create more Master Balls, find out the patterns of those we must remove..."

"Remove?" Shelly asked.

"The Elite Fours for example. They need to go, as do the Professors."

Maxie wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"What about those blasted kids?" he sneered.

Giovanni smiled evilly.

"Without the backup of the Gym Leaders, the Elite Four and the Professors they will be of little threat."

"Pfft." Archie scoffed.

"And what about Sharia? She will get involved, and even the Legends will have trouble defeating her team!" Matt warned.

Giovanni smiled.

"Her time is waning and her power is eroding quickly. You will see."

"When?" Hank demanded.

Giovanni smiled.

"All will be made clear in time my friend. Along with how we shall take over the regions." He smiled.

He began to laugh, and his new allies joined him. The Pokémon was facing it's gravest threat ever. And no one aside from the plotters knew a thing about it.

**Greetings to you all!**

**I recently got Ruby and Saphire, and liked them so much I got my interest in Pokemon back. So, as such I thought I would** **write a story to do with them too! **

**This story will focus on Pokemon from the first three generations, as I've never played the fourth, and until I get some cash I likely never will. However, I cant wait until HeartGold and SoulSilver come out!**

**Hope you like, and if I get positive reviews I will continue! Please read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (or I'd give you more than one Master Ball per game!)**

Hydra

Three years passed. Kanto, Johto and Hoenn were mercifully quiet, free of the dark spectre of the gangs.

Jasmine, the Gym Leader of Olivine City in Johto, smiled as her latest challenger left. Yet again Steelix had shown his superiority, crushing the offensive of the lad's Poliwrath, Cubone and Lickitung. She heard something behind her and turned, and was immediately drawn into a kiss. She moaned in pleasure as Blue Oak, the former Gym Leader of Viridian City, kissed her deeply.

"Hi." He said, breaking for air.

"Hello. This is a surprise. What are you doing here?" she asked delightedly.

Recently Blue had been investigating Pokémon swarms, most recently a swarm of Swablu, on the other side of Johto at Route 45. As such Jasmine hadn't seen much of her lover for quite some time. Following the disbanding of Team Rocket, he had come to Johto to explore for a while and had met her when he challenged her. While he had defeated her, he had asked her out to dinner at the dining room and they had struck up a relationship. Despite being busy with his work, the athletic, handsome trainer always made time for her at least once a week. More if he could stay the night.

"What, I cant visit my girl?" he asked, kissing her cheek.

"Well I'm glad you're here. I've been needing to unwind for ages." She said, standing on her tip toes to kiss his cheek.

Blue grinned.

"Come on." He said, taking her hand.

Jasmine leant her head against his shoulder and they walked out into the cool night air.

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Misty, the leader of Cerulean City gym, watched as Starmie performed a Hydro Pump, getting ready for the contest next week. Red, the Champion of Kanto, was supposed to be picking her up to take her to Celadon City for dinner. She could hardly wait.

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Gold scrawled something else down. Silver then checked to see what it was.

"You still think there's another two Unown versions to find?" he asked his best friend.

Gold rolled his eyes at the long, red haired youth.

"Yes I do. Now, if you'd rather be somewhere else, I'm sure I can manage..." Gold teased.

Silver looked at his black haired friend. Defeating him many a time, they had transformed from enemies into the best of friends since the disbanding of Team Rocket. They were in the Ruins of Alph, studying the Unown at the request of Professor Elm. And Gold was still convinced that there were more than twenty six types.

"I'm not saying that, I'm saying there must be more exciting Pokémon to study. After all, all the Unown do is float around making funny noises." Silver said, earning him a glare from a passing A-shaped one.

"I know they aren't the most exciting of Pokémon, but it might help us learn more about the origins of Pokémon. So stop whining and see if you can read the next sentence."

Silver sighed and did as instructed. He would make Gold pay for this though.

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Over in Hoenn, May watched as the Mightyena sniffed at the piece of meat she had left out, in order to find out for her father, Professor Birch, if wild Pokémon would consider accepting charity. She watched as the dog ate it, then rushed off.

She smiled and wrote down what she had seen, and then felt a hand on her shoulder. Leaping to her feet in shock, she turned to see Brendan, the son of Norman, the Gym Leader of Petalburg City, laughing.

"Sorry May, couldn't resist." He said, sticking his tongue out as she threw a pencil at him and missed.

"Swine! You could have been anyone!" she grumbled, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder.

"Relax! The teams have gone, and no wild Pokémon will stand a chance against your team, so calm down." He said.

She rolled her eyes and set off back down Route 103 towards Littleroot Town. May was so beautiful...and Brendan still hadn't told her how he felt about her. Sighing disappointedly, he went off after her.

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Professor Oak scribbled something else down as he studied his Espeon. The brain waves emitting from her were very powerful, and he was trying to see if they could be replicated.

"Espe?" she asked.

"Yes, nearly finished. Then we can have a spot of lunch." He promised, patting her head lightly as he took another reading.

The door to his lab banged open and he turned to see a man clad in a black suit, monogrammed with a single R enter the building.

Oak narrowed his eyes. He knew who this man was. It was the leader of Team Rocket who had tried to get rid of both Red and Blue seven years ago, and had disappeared following Red's defeat of him at Viridian City.

"Giovanni!" he spat angrily.

Giovanni smiled sinisterly, watching in amusement as Espeon growled.

"Professor Oak. It's been a long time old teacher."

Oak looked at him in disgust.

"You should not have come back. Why are you here?" he demanded.

Giovanni sighed.

"My research wont help you enslave Pokémon."

Giovanni raised an eyebrow.

"Really? We will just have to see. But I'm afraid my needs are far greater than yours Professor. Now...stand aside!" he demanded.

Oak sighed and pulled five Pokeballs off his belt.

"I was afraid it would come to this. Go!" he yelled, throwing them.

A Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Raichu and Hitmontop all appeared in the room, and Espeon leapt to join them. Giovanni grinned sinisterly.

"Off we go." He said, releasing six of his own.

A Persian, Kangashkan, Steelix, Gengar, Metagross and Nidoking erupted, and Oak glowered. This battle wouldn't be easy.

"Venusaur, use Body Slam on Persian!"

Venusaur charged forwards, and Persian growled at him as he approached.

"Nidoking...Fire Blast!" Giovanni barked.

Oak looked at the massive purple dinosaur as it reared it's head. It shouldn't be able to do Fire Blast! A jet of flame emitted form his mouth, and Venusaur cried out in pain.

"Espeon, Psychic!" Oak said, pointing.

Espeon leapt into the battle.

"Kangashkan, Crunch!"

Strong jaws clamped around Espeon and the little blue fox mewed in pain.

"Hitmontop, Cross Chop!"

"Metagross, Psychic!"

The large metal crab went forward and struck, rendering Hitmontop helpless.

"Charizard, Fire Blast!"

"Persian, Water Pulse!"

The jet of water crashed Charizard to the floor, leaving only Blastoise and Raichu standing.

"Ice Beam Blastoise! Raichu, Thunder!"

"Steelix, Earthquake!"

The metal snake attacked, defeating Raichu. Blastoise went forward, his beam firing.

"Gengar, Hypnosis, then Dream Eater!"

The ghost Pokémon then brought Blastoise down, and Oak had lost. He looked around in amazement at his Pokémon. Granted they didn't see many battles, but they should have been able to hold their own for a while. Their level was in the seventies for goodness sake.

"As I was saying Professor, you are coming with me." Giovanni said, grinning wickedly.

Metagross went behind Oak and nudged him forward.

"You wont succeed in whatever you're up to Giovanni." Oak said defiantly.

Giovanni smiled.

"On the contrary my dear professor, I already have." He said, slipping a disc into the computer.

A few minutes later he smiled, and left the lab, having got what he needed.

"Meteor Mash." He ordered Metagross as he passed.

Metagross gave a roar, and raised his fist, which glowed red. He then slammed it into the building, and the lab crumbled to pieces before Oak's eyes.

Oak looked at his ruined lab in despair. His life's work...

"Come, let's go." Giovanni said, shoving him onto the helicopter that had just landed.

His Pokémon returned, and he handed Oak's Pokémon to the pilot as they took off. The plan was afoot.

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Brock watched happily as his Onix, Geodude and Kabutops tucked into the food he had made them. Abruptly, his door banged open. He turned, smiling, expecting another trained. What he saw was a woman, tall and thin, with red hair. Now Brock was normally very interested in women, but he knew this one was trouble.

Especially when four Team Rocket Grunts appeared behind her.

"Find the documents." She ordered coldly as she walked forward.

Brock turned to face her, glaring. It would be the day his two trainers were off.

Onix growled and barred the progress of the four grunts. Athena grinned wickedly.

"I've been looking forward to this." She purred excitedly.

"I thought Team Rocket was finished." Brock spat.

"You would be so lucky. We have returned, greater than ever, and this time, nothing will stop us! Now go, Feraligatr!"

A large blue crocodile materialised before them and Brock knew he was in trouble. If he had a strong water move...

"Hydro Cannon." She ordered coldly.

A torrent of water slammed into both Onix and Geodude, dropping them instantly. Kabutops leapt into the air.

"False Swipe!" Brock yelled as the Grunts ran towards the back of the gym.

Athena grinned.

"Ice Beam." She growled.

The beam caught Kabutops head on, and he was forced upwards and smashed into the ceiling, where he dropped down. Brock looked at his defeated Pokémon. This wasn't good.

"Lady Athena, we have the script!" a Grunt called.

Brock span, worried. They had taken the script detailing the known powers of Moltres, the Legendary Bird of Fire. What could they want with that?

"Take his Pokémon." She said, smiling as one Grunt ran off with the plaque.

Brock darted forward but Athena calmly raised her wrist and fired a dart. Brock gave a gasp and collapsed to the floor as the dart in his neck flooded his body with paralyser.

"Take him to the truck." She commanded, smiling as the Grunts lifted the limp Gym leader and took him from his gym.

"We have everything my lady. Orders?" the remaining Grunt asked.

She recalled Feraligatr and released Houndoom.

"Blast Burn it to the ground." She said, patting it before climbing into the jet black car.

Houndoom gave a roar and a massive ball of flame flew from his mouth and blasted the gym to bits. She recalled him and the car drove off as the emergency services started to rouse themselves.

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Misty was just about to head out to meet Red when she heard a creaking behind her.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

Misty rolled her eyes and turned to see two Team Rocket members, who had been frequent pains in the past, standing on her pedestal.

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all peoples within our nation..."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."

"To extend our reach to the stars above..."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth that's right!"

Misty sighed in exasperation. Jessie was a woman with red hair that hung to her waist, James was a man with purple hair to his shoulders and they had with them a Meowth that could talk, which was unusual for a Pokémon. The three fancied themselves as Pokémon thieves, but they weren't very successful, and Misty had faced them before.

"What are you two doing here? Cant you see I'm busy?" she asked irritably.

Jessie grinned.

"You aren't going out on your date today missy. Today, you aren't going anywhere." Jessie said, sounding sure of herself.

Misty raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I've thrashed you before, I can do it now. Go Starmie!" she said, letting loose the purple starfish Pokémon.

"Go Victreebel!" James said, revealing a large, carnivorous plant.

"Really? You know I can tackle that! Starmie, Psychic!"

"Giga Drain!"

A beam attached to Starmie and fed into Victreebel, who became stronger as Starmie fell.

"Not good." Misty commented, letting loose Goldeen.

"Drill Peck!" she ordered.

Goldeen jumped at James' Victreebel, but Meowth jumped in front.

Meowth grinned, and let loose with a Thunderbolt. Goldeen jumped right into the attack and dropped down, defeated.

Concerned for her safety, Misty then followed with Staryu and Psyduck.

"Solar Beam!" James cried triumphantly.

The beam hit Staryu, defeating him too. Psyduck was alone.

"Psyduck, let's go!" Misty shouted, recalling her three defeated Pokémon.

For the leader of Cerulean Gym, she was making a right mess. What had happened to the old days when she could have easily taken those bums?

"Oh no you don't! Weezing, Smog!" James ordered.

The three floating gas balls zoomed in front of her and she dropped, unconscious. Psyduck stood back, and let loose with Confusion, dropping Weezing. Meowth and Victreebel then worked together, finishing him too.

"That was great fun! We should do this more often!" Jessie said happily.

"It feels so good to win for a change doesn't it?" James asked musingly as he scratched Victreebel in approval.

Meowth then returned with a plaque in hand, detailing the flight patterns of Articuno, the Legendary Bird of Ice.

"Got it." He said triumphantly.

"We got it right for a change! The boss will be so happy!" James said as he threw Misty into the basket of their Meowth balloon.

"Of course he will. Now let's go. Oh, where is it?" she asked absently.

She found the bomb, and rolled it into the gym. She activated the timer and the balloon rose, hovering above the gym to watch. There was then a massive explosion and Cerulean gym was in ruins, and their mission was accomplished.

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Far away in the north, far from Kanto, Johto and Hoenn, there was a small town covered in snow. There were ten houses, a Pokémon Centre, a Pokemart, a small train station, a pub, a convenience store and a technology station allowing the inhabitants access to television and radio. At the edge of the town was a small temple, covered in snow. At the side of this temple was a narrow set of stairs, leading up to the bluff overlooking the town. It was a short house, but it was spread over as wide area.

Within, in the sitting room, a woman sat. Long, cascading red hair fell past her shoulders. She had a stern, but at the same time, kind face. However, a look at her eyes told you she was not one to mess with, as they were green and smouldering with inner fire and power. She was around medium height but well built, and had long fingers which she used to clasp her pokeballs. Her name was Sharia, and she was the Supreme Master of Kanto, Johto and Hoenn. All trainers eventually answered to her, due to the immense power she wielded. It was said that she could take on all of Team Rocket, Aqua and Magma at the same time and still come out relatively intact.

At this moment of time, she was in meditation, using her Abilitor powers. Abilitors were people who could use attacks much the same as Pokémon. Each Abilitor, and Sharia knew of only five still in the world, had a specific type, hers being Fire. However, her second was Psychic, and hence she could feel the turmoil that was engulfing Kanto.

"Get me Red." She ordered her pet Dratini.

"Dratini!" he squeaked at her and slithered off to get the phone.

Sharia frowned. Something terrible was happening in Kanto. And she felt this was just the beginning.

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Across Kanto, chaos reigned. In Vermillion City, Lt Surge was taken down by an attack from Team Rocket Commander Eric. Despite a valiant fight, Eric's Zangoose wielded an all too powerful Earthquake which flattened Surge's Pokémon. Surge had thrown himself at Eric, but Eric had calmly neutralised him by tazering him.

"Live by electricity, fall by electricity." Eric growled.

He was a tall brutish looking man, with a bald cranium, a goatee and an earring. He then went to the back of the Gym and got out the plaque detailing the weaknesses of Articuno. He then shoved the defeated Surge and his Pokémon into the van and drove off.

Across Kanto this continued. Mr Fuji was thrown down the stairs by a gang of grunts who took a plaque detailing the weaknesses of Zapdos from the top of Pokémon Tower. Erika, the Grass gym leader of Celadon City, was defeated by Commander Boris, a man with a mop of unruly black hair and an evil smile. He then took the plaque on the flight patterns of Zapdos, before dragging Erika to the mini submarine at Cycling Road and fleeing. Janine in Fuschia City was attacked by Executive Lambda, a man with a crest of brown hair on his head. With her defeat, Team Rocket took control of the plaque detailing the weaknesses of Moltres. The process was repeated on Cinnibar Island, leading to the defeat of Blaine, and the final plaque on Articuno, detailing her powers. Sabrina was defeated in Saffron City, her powers negated by a new technology, allowing Executive Apollo, a man with a cold face and blue hair to defeat her.

Last was Marissa, the Gym leader of Viridian City. She was a medium woman, with bulky legs, curly brown hair, a stern, angular face and deep brown eyes that were almost black. She was clad in a black suit and cloak that made her look slightly like a bat. She knew however, all that was going on through Kanto, as she helped plan it. She had smiled as she heard the first report over the radio:  
"_Pewter City Gym has been destroyed, and it's leader Brock is presumed missing, but authorities fear the worst in this brutal attack which was clearly caused by a Pokémon."_

Next had come the report from Cerulean.

"_A dreadful attack has occurred at Cerulean City Pokémon Gym. The gym was apparently destroyed by a bomb, possibly with Leader Misty still inside. More on this as it is known_."

Marissa had listened with gleeful enjoyment as the radio reported the fates of her fellow gym leaders. All seven gyms had been destroyed, and there hadn't been a hitch, as all seven other leaders had been taken captive and were even now incarcerated beneath Silph Co, which Giovanni had bought back. Kanto was in chaos, it's trainers were leaderless and untested, and the gyms had been crushed, leaving only Viridian City intact. Following her role play she would come forward and effectively take command of Kanto, allowing her brother Giovanni to research more on the Legends. Being the highest ranking member beneath the Elite Four, she was the natural choice, as Sharia would be too occupied with events as a whole to focus too much on one region specifically.

"Leader Marissa!"

A police officer, a tall woman with blonde hair came rushing up to her.

"You've heard?" she asked breathlessly.

Marissa, despite smiling inside, put on her best frantic look.

"Yes. What is going on? Why is someone targeting the gym leaders?" she demanded anxiously.

"We don't know. I must ask you..." the officer said.

Suddenly the window blew in and a man swept in.

"Marissa, time for you to go!" the black shrouded man said, letting loose a Gyrados.

Marissa snorted. The police woman went forward to fight, but Marissa held her back.

"Silly fool." She snarled.

She threw a Pokeball and a golden Pinsir burst out.

"Thunder!" Marissa spat.

The man yelped as electricity surged between her Pinsir's horns and crashed into his Gyrados. The dragon collapsed to the floor, and Marissa smiled.

"Guillotine!" she ordered.

Two thin, lethal looking blades shot out from Pinsir's mouth. They punctured the man's shoulders and carried him out of the window and away.

"That was brilliant!" the woman said, as Marissa patted her Pinsir's arm.

"Good boy. Thank you lass. You don't get to be the eight gym leader if you aren't good. Now, we must hope the Elite Four haven't fallen into the same trap, and the same goes for Johto and Hoenn. Or things could be very dire indeed." Marissa warned.

The police woman went pale, and dashed off to warn the Elites, Johto and Hoenn. But it was far too late. Marissa grinned as Giovanni stepped out from the antechamber behind the gym.

"An impressive specimen." He said, looking at Pinsir interestedly.

"Thank you brother dear. Your plaque is waiting for you in the office. Now, provided you've done your job right, the Elites will fall next?"

"Yes. And they will sister dear."

"Good. Come, let's stick the kettle on and celebrate our victory." She said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Within the depths of the Indigo Plateau, the Elite Four, both old members and new had gathered to discuss the chaos that had erupted in Kanto.

"Something isn't right about this. Why would anyone attack the gyms?" Lorelei asked.

Lance, the leader, looked out over the distant horizon. He could still see the smoke rising from Pewter City, from where the gym had once stood.

"Something is amiss here. We're missing something." He said certainly.

Bruno raised a finger to his lips.

"My guess is that Team Rocket are behind it. I told you we should have crushed them when he had the chance." He said.

For years, Bruno and Lorelei had advocated going after the Rockets and finishing them, but Agatha and Lance had always been against it. When Koga, Will and Karen joined they too had gone against action against the Rockets and so the Elite had done nothing.

"Team Rocket has vanished, it's been defunct for years." Koga insisted, his face drawn and pale over the worry about his daughter.

"Dont be too sure. They were thought gone before, then look at what they did to Johto." Karen pointed out.

Agatha nodded grimly.

"She does have a point." She acknowledged.

Lance stroked his chin musingly. He still felt they were missing something.

"Should we contact Sharia?" Will asked.

Lance had thought on this himself. Sharia would know what to do. But if there was a threat of this magnitude, they had to be careful. While he felt that they were safe as they were stronger than the gym leaders, and Sharia was definitely safe, there was something cold and ruthless about their enemy, and the fact that they didn't yet know everything concerned him.

"Not yet. We'll wait until we have more information, then we can call her." He said.

Koga shook his head.

"No, we need her here now! We need her help to find the leaders!" he protested.

Lorelei looked at him sympathetically.

"I know you're concerned about Janine, but we cant move until we know more. We don't even know..." she began, before breaking off awkwardly, considering Koga was already in a state he didn't need their worst fears to be given voice.

Will took off his glasses and sighed tiredly.

"I think we're missing something. Who, or what, are we dealing with? And if Bruno is correct and it is a resurgent threat from the Rockets, what are they after?" he mused.

"Someone wanting all the badges?" Karen suggested half heartedly.

"No, this was far too coordinated for that. There's something else at stake here." Bruno said.

Lance looked at Koga.

"Well Koga, you're the one who was most recently a Gym Leader. What could our enemy have been after?" he asked.

Koga steepled his fingers and thought. Silence dominated the room as he pondered. Then, his face went pale and ashen.

"Oh no..." he whispered.

Agatha looked at him in concern. She was worried about the absence of Professor Oak, who, due to his expertise, should be here too. His absence worried the old trainer considerably.

"Well?"

"Consider...the first one to fall in this dreadful attack was Professor Oak. He is known for his research on Pokémon behaviour. Next, the gyms fall. And there is one thing present in every gym that we have overlooked. A plaque detailing something specific about the Legends." He said in a scared voice.

Lance whirled to face him.

"You think this is an attempt by them to take control of the Legendary Pokémon?" he demanded.

Koga nodded grimly.

"If they gather the information on all those plaques, they will be able to pinpoint the location of Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. If they catch all three of them, they will be able to draw out Lugia." He warned.

Lorelei frowned.

"There's too much effort involved in all of this just to get the birds though. Even with Lugia, they may be a powerful force but there's a lot more here I reckon."

"Unless Johto and Hoenn are also being threatened." Will reasoned.

"Then we do face a grave threat if this is true." Lance said, heading for the phone.

"Wait. Maybe we're right and this is about the Legends, but they wont be able to get one of them without the last remaining plaque. Marissa hasn't fallen." Karen theorised.

Bruno opened his mouth, then realisation spread across his face.

"Who takes over Kanto and Johto if we're removed?" he demanded urgently.

"The eight gym leader, why?" Lance asked worriedly.

"And why isn't Marissa here?" he demanded.

"She isn't part of the Elite." Will said, not following.

Agatha closed her eyes in comprehension.

"She's involved! She's a traitor! It's obvious! Our enemies attack the gyms to get the plaques, then pretend to attack her so as not to arouse suspicion while she is working with them! Then we get chucked out of the way, and she takes over Kanto, and if the same process repeats itself there, Johto and eventually Hoenn as well! That will give her access to the library annexes of all the gyms, and locations not only on the three Birds, but the Dogs and Golems as well! And with all that knowledge..."

"They will be able to locate their masters, Lugia, Ho-Oh for example, and others!" Lorelei said weakly.

"This is all in someone's design. Someone is behind this. I fear you could be right about the Rockets my friend." Lance said to Bruno as he headed for the phone.

Will looked at the phone and saw the red light underneath the mouthpiece.

"NO!" he yelled as Lance lifted the phone.

And an explosion ripped through the Indigo Plateau.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Red looked at the ruins of Cerulean Gym. Misty couldn't be buried in the wreckage. He couldn't believe that. She had to be alive somewhere. He couldn't stand the thought of losing her.

The phone rang, startling him.

"Yes?" he asked hoarsely.

"Red, this is Sharia. Get out of Kanto now!" she urged.

"What? No! I'm going to find Misty!" he said.

Sharia moaned.

"No Red. Something more than the gym leaders is going on here. I cant feel the Elite Four anymore, which means that if the process repeats in Johto, that entire region is going to fall into anarchy!"

Red gasped.

"The Elites are gone?"

"I cant feel them, same as I cant feel the other gym leaders. The only one I can feel is Marissa, but..."

"I have to go to the Plateau!" he said, cutting her off.

"NO! Red, for whichever reason you are now the strongest trainer left in Kanto! You must escape. There's something not right about all of this! Get out of Kanto while you can."

Red shook his head.

"No, and if the gym leaders...."

"I cant move Marissa, I have to hope she can hold off whoever comes for her. If the other gym leaders and Hoenn's elite fall, she will have to take over Kanto and Johto at least until I can create a new leadership. For that, I will need your help. Please, leave Kanto!"

Red sighed in exasperation.

"I know it's not pleasant, but please, do it to keep an old woman happy. I will need your help until we recover from this. Get out of Kanto. If what I think is happening is, I will need as much support as I can get. You are now a very viable target. Please, go undercover, go in disguise, and go to Saffron City. Take the train up to Shinto and come here to me. Our unseen enemy's reach will have grown overextended to say the least if they think they can take me easily." She growled menacingly.

Red sighed.

"All right. I only hope we can figure this out quickly." He said sadly, reluctant to leave Misty's possible grave.

Sharia snorted mirthlessly.

"Do not worry my lad. This has only just begun." She said sadly.

**Team Rocket have struck!**

**A dark day indeed in Kanto, with the gyms put to the torch. Are the gym leaders safe?**

**And what about the Elite Four? Will they survive the attack on the Indigo Plateau? **

**Red is now bound for Shinto, the location where you get either Dialgia, Paklia or Giratina in HeartGold/SoulSilver I believe, where Sharia lives.**

**As described above, she is not one to challenge, so I shall give you a preview of her team and their attacks:  
Dragonite: Blizzard, Thunder, Superpower, Sky Attack  
Metagross: Psychic, Shadow Ball, Doom Desire, Rockslide  
Garchomp: Blast Burn, Meteoric Swarm, Megahorn, Crunch**

**I know I said there would be no Generation IV's in it but I felt she warranted one in her team. Also, the rest of the fourth generation lot that do appear are all in the hands of a certain gym leader... (The lack of those is due to my own woeful knowledge of the timeframe of Diamon, Pearl and Platinum, and also because the idea for a sequel sprang to mind!)**

**Will Team Rocket succeed? Were the Elites right to fear for Johto and Hoenn? The attack continues next time!**

**And there is Jessie and James here, and next time we shall see the other two teams of similar mindset, so two more mottos!**

**What will happen next? Time will tell!**

**Until next time, please read and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (or I would get rid of the confusion status change)**

Downfall

Professor Elm frowned as the reports came in from Kanto. The gyms had been put to torch, the gym leaders were missing and presumed dead, Professor Oak had vanished, and the Elite Four had been attacked and the Indigo Plateau bombed. As such, that meant Johto's Elite had also been taken out in whatever the attack in Kanto was. He could only hope that the madness was contained to Kanto, but he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him that wasn't the case...or it may be the fact that he had forgotten to eat breakfast again.

He looked up as his door opened. He saw a man dressed in a black suit, with a beard and blue bandana, and with a sinking feeling realised that the trouble was not just limited to Kanto.

"Professor Elm I believe. I am Archie of Team Aqua, dedicated to expanding the world's oceans. And I'm afraid you must come with me." He said gravely.

Elm sighed. He had heard of how Team Aqua's abortive attempt to awaken Kyogre had resulted in all of Hoenn nearly being washed away. But what they wanted with him he had no idea.

"Look sir, I have little that may be of interest to you. So, rather than trash my lab, could you please just go away?" he attempted.

Archie guffawed.

"I'm sorry Professor, but your lab does hold some important information that I intend to use. Now, please come quietly."

Elm sighed, and then threw six balls from his belt. Meganium, Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Azumarill, Ampharos and Jumpluff all formed a protective barrier around their trainer.

Archie cursed.

"Professor, I had hoped we could do this without resort to a battle." He said regretfully.

Elm narrowed his eyes.

"Well as you are labouring under the delusion that I have something you seek, you leave me no choice but to fight you. Ampharos, Thunder!"

Ampharos leapt into the air and crackling yellow lightning flew from him towards Archie.

"Ludicolo, Protect!"

The large seed frog came out of his ball and a green shield made the attack bounce off.

"Typhlosion, Flame Wheel!"

Archie sighed.

"Go Wailord! Surf!"

The massive Pokémon appeared outside and flooded the room, defeating Typhlosion before he could deal with Ludicolo.

"Jumpluff, Aerial Ace!"

Jumpluff moved too quickly for Ludicolo to deal with, and the larger Pokémon swayed.

"Azumarill, Rollout!"

The water rabbit smashed into Ludicolo and he fell to the floor, defeated.

"Qwilfish, Shock Wave!" Archie yelled.

The small puffer fish leapt out of its ball and fried Azumarill, who dropped to the floor.

"Meganium, Solar Beam!" Elm yelled, pointing at Wailord.

"Hyper Beam Gyrados!" Archie yelled.

Meganium gave a cry of triumph as she blasted Wailord. The massive Pokémon, nearly as large as New Bark Town itself, gave a cry and fainted. However, Gyrados' attack smashed into Meganium and she fell to the floor, defeated.

"Ampharos, Jumpluff, Feraligatr, use your strongest attacks!" Elm yelled.

Thunder crashed into Gyrados, and the large dragon collapsed, leading Archie to curse in annoyance.

"Huntail, use as many Mud Slaps as it takes to take out Ampharos!" Archie bellowed.

The long fish attacked, locking Ampharos in battle. Tentacruel then let loose with a Blizzard attack to attack Jumpluff, and Elm knew it would soon be over. He had been neglecting his training recently it seemed. Feraligatr let loose with a Superpower, knocking Qwilfish for six, who then let loose with Shock Wave. Elm cursed as Archie neared him.

"Well Professor, a valiant effort, but you are beaten. Now..." Archie said, watching as Elm's Pokémon reluctantly admitted defeat.

A few minutes later, Elm had been dragged outside and Archie had what he had been searching for...the favoured haunts of the Johto legends.

"Now...we shall begin our reign of power!" Archie said, while Elm hung his head in defeat.

XX

The old man in Cherrygrove, who gave a tour to new trainers, looked up as his door banged open. A group of Team Aqua grunts, who he had come across during his travels in his younger days, entered his house. With a sinking feeling, he realised they must be after the plaque detailing the powers of the Thunder Dog, Raikou.

"I wondered when your ilk would eventually go after the Legends. You shall not succeed." He warned, as two grunts hoisted him up.

The leader, a tall woman, ripped the plaque off the wall from behind his bookcase.

"Shut up. Take him to the van, and tell the boss we've got the first plaque." She growled.

XX

Falkner frowned as he clipped Pidgeotto's claws. The reports they were receiving about a terrible attack on the gyms of Kanto were very disturbing. And also, there had been smoke rising to the south of Violet City, and Falkner feared Professor Elm had also succumbed to this attack. He didn't like the sound of what was going on, and had a nasty feeling that it could spread. The next day, they were all to travel to Blackthorn and debate what the Johto leaders should do about the threat. Then, the door to his gym banged open, and he heard the trainers fall to the ground. Falkner gave a sigh, and knew that the Johto leaders hadn't moved quickly enough.

"Leader Falkner, I suggest you come with us, after handing over the plaque." A man said as he emerged into the room.

Falkner gave the man a look. He was rakishly thin, and bald, with a blue bandana.

"Who are you?" Falkner demanded, returning Pidgeotto to his ball, knowing it would be futile to resist.

"Sean of Team Aqua. And you have within this gym the plaque detailing the weaknesses of Raikou."

Falkner gasped. This Team Aqua was after the Legendary Dogs? But that didn't make any sense...from what he had heard of Team Aqua, they were obsessed with water Pokémon. As such there was no reason to go after Raikou, unless they were going to use him to capture Suicune. But there was still something he was missing.

"Never." Falkner said defiantly.

Sean smiled, then smacked him in the mouth, and Falkner fell to the floor. Sean then took down an image of a Hoothoot defeating a Bellsprout, and then found the plaque behind it. Grinning manically, he reported his success.

XX

The attacks then began up and down Johto. Morty was defeated by Stan, who took the plaque detailing Raikou's travel patterns from the bottom of one of his statues, before taking him away.

Bugsy was attacked by two grunts, named Whirl and Poll. As he was taken away, they claimed the plaque of Entei's weaknesses. Whitney in Goldenrod was defeated, and the plaque with Entei's movements was taken by Team Aqua. Also, the plaque with Entei's powers on it was taken from Blackthorn after they knocked everyone within out.

The attack repeated in Mahogany, with Pryce being cast down by a gang of grunts, leading to the theft of the plaque about Suicune's weaknesses being taken. Chuck was ambushed on his way back from the pharmacy, and the plaque on Suicune's movement patterns was taken. All across Johto, the gyms were put to torch, repeating the terrible scenes in Kanto. However, one escaped.

XX

Jasmine and Blue entered Olvine's gym after their meal, full of worry about what was happening in Kanto, to see a woman with a head of bushy hair prying a plaque from inside the safe at the back of the gym.

"What the...?" Blue asked.

Jasmine knew immediately what was going on. They were trying to get the plaque that detailed the powers of Suicune, and if she had learnt anything on her travels, the fact that people in blue bandanas were bad news was one of them. She knew this mysterious woman worked for Team Aqua, a group of fanatics from Hoenn.

"They're bad news. I fear the Legends are threatened. Go Steelix!" she cried, letting loose her long partner.

The woman span angrily.

"What are you doing here!?" she demanded angrily.

"I might ask you the same question. Who are you?" Jasmine demanded.

"Shelly of Team Aqua. Now, get lost!" she said.

Blue then stepped out from the shadows.

"Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" he asked, coming to Jasmine's aid as she let out her other two Pokémon.

Skarmory and Magneton advanced upon Shelley, who let out her Swampert. Blue let out his Exeggutor, and the battle was on.

"Solar Beam!" he yelled.

The three headed Pokémon fired the yellow beam, smashing into Swampert and blowing him into the air.

"Skarmory, Steel Wing! Magneton, Zap Cannon!" Jasmine ordered.

The metal bird's wings flashed and the attack hit Shelley into the air with her Pokémon. Magneton's ball of electricity then fried her, making her scream in pain.

"Steelix, Iron Tail!" Jasmine yelled.

Steelix roared in approval and smacked Shelley and Swampert with his tail, crashing them through the roof and knocking them away from Olvine.

"What was that about?" Blue demanded as Jasmine recalled her Pokémon.

"She was after the plaque. There is a plaque in each gym, detailing some fact about one of the Legendary Trio. I'm sure Kanto is the same." She said, receiving a nod from her boyfriend.

"Yeah, Viridian Gym had something to do with Moltres I think. But what's going? Do you think they're after the Legends?" he asked worriedly.

Jasmine frowned in concern.

"Yes." She said quietly.

Blue pulled her to him and she laid her head against his strong chest, feeling safe with him.

"What will we do? I fear the same has happened here as did in Kanto." She said, as she turned on the TV.

It was full of reports about the destruction of seven out of the eight Johto gyms.

"Not good. I was going to go to Kanto, but something more is going on here. Come on, lets get some clothes. We can go north to Shinto and meet with Sharia, see if she knows whats going on. Come on." He said, taking her hand and leading her up the stairs, the two of them full with worry.

XX

Marissa frowned as she received the report. They had failed to get the plaque detailing the weaknesses of Suicune, the water dog. Granted, any trainer worth their salt would know what types to use against a water type anyway, but that wasn't the point. As Shelly had been caught in the act of trying to thieve the plaque, Jasmine and her irritating boyfriend would most likely figure out that they were after the Legends. Which means they would go and report to the Supreme Master, Sharia, and everyone would be in trouble. Marissa sighed. It wasn't to be helped. They had enough to know where the three dogs would soon be, and then they could capture them, and Ho-oh. Add that to the birds and Lugia, and the Golems and Regigigas, and their plan was right on schedule. There was nothing to worry about...provided Archie dealt with his lieutenant's failure.

XX

Archie sighed.

"Well I suppose it cant be helped. The problem is that brat and his gym leader will now run off to Sharia, and if he figures out that Marissa is a traitor and figures out what we are after....they could turn into rather large hindrances." He said.

Shelly pouted.

"Then why don't we go after Sharia? An old woman, living alone...she'd be easy pickings." She said.

Archie let loose a bout of laughter, deep and booming.

"You silly girl! Sharia is the Supreme Master, and due to the fact that he hasn't showed up yet in Kanto, Red has most likely joined her! That's two of the most powerful trainers imaginable up there already. No, that wont work."

Shelly looked miserable.

"Does it matter? They cant stop us. And I sent Drow and Ning to watch Goldenrod Railway Station to try and stop Blue and his girl escaping." She said.

"Good. Let us hope they don't escape the net."

XX

Blue took Jasmine's hand and edged through the crowds towards the train. With the attack on seven gyms, and the disappearance of the only remaining leader, who's gym was the only one intact, the ordinary people were milling about scared. Blue could see Team Aqua members on each platform, and one particularly sinister looking pair were guarding the Shinto train.

"If they spot us..." Jasmine whispered.

"Even if they do, they wont recognise me. They're looking for Blue, who is a strapping six footer with black clothes and spiky gelled hair. They are not looking for Roger Simmons, with a tweed suit and flat hair." He soothed.

Jasmine sent him an amused glance.

"Dont you diss that tweed suit, that's my fathers. And if he finds out the person I'm dating is wearing his tweed suit before he's even met him, he'll do his nut." She warned, a twinkle in her eye.

Blue rolled his eyes.

"And on the other hand, they are looking for Jasmine, the beautiful brown haired, slim leader of Olvine Gym in casual clothes, not the slightly plump woman with auburn hair and a cardigan called Mary Bennett. So stop worrying." Blue said, kissing her forehead.

"Can I take this cushion off of my stomach when we get on the train?" she grumbled.

"Yes." Blue grinned as they got on the train.

They took their seats, and Blue put his arm protectively around her. If they were attacked, his Pokémon could defend them, but that would alert whoever was after them that he and Jasmine had escaped Johto and were heading towards Shinto. So they had to hope that they could escape scrutiny.

The two sinister looking Team Aqua members then got on the train, and Jasmine cuddled closer to Blue. The man was a short man, with hard eyes and several deep pockmarks on his face. The woman was even shorter, with black hair and long fingers and puckered up lips. They prowled up the train, glaring at people, and people averted their eyes, knowing that they were trouble. Blue heard Jasmine breath in as they prowled past, glaring at them. Then they got off the train, and he heard her breathe out.

"Thank god for that." She said as the train started off.

Blue nodded.

"Right, let's get to the Supreme Master. If anyone can figure out what's going on she can." Blue said as Jasmine snuggled up to him.

XX

Gold and Silver had just finished their investigations of the Ruins of Alph when the attacks had begun. Fire had erupted from Violet City, and they feared something big was happening, especially when reports over the radio had reported the attack against Goldenrod Gym as well. Deciding their best bet would be to get to Ecruteak City, as it was the centre of the Johto region, they had immediately went north, to find Morty's gym also engulfed in flames. After assisting the inhabitants of the city quell the blaze, they had become aware of several people in blue bandanas and red hoods. Then, a car had arrived.

"Wait, it cant be..." Silver muttered as someone clambered out of the car.

A woman with red hair, and a man with blue hair both got out of the car, and headed towards Tin Tower, flanked by several men dressed in black tops with an R on them. The bandana and hood clad people also followed them.

"Team Rocket." Silver hissed.

Gold grasped Silver's arm to restrain his friend, and prevent him from exposing him to the criminals.

"Come on, let's follow them." Gold said.

They shadowed them to the entrance of Tin Tower, where the Rockets set the other two groups to taking scribes off the plaques off the wall.

"Who are the other guys?" Gold asked.

Silver narrowed his eyes.

"I've heard of that lot. They're Team Aqua and Magma, from Hoenn. They're fanatics, committed to expanding either the ocean or the land. And if they're working with the Rockets, they're up to something big." Silver said worriedly.

Gold looked at his friend. It was good having a best friend who knew so much about the workings of the criminals they dealt with.

"What do you reckon they're after though?" Silver asked, trying to squint and see what the Rocket executives were up to, as they seemed to be reading the central plaque and copying it down.

Suddenly, a terrible feeling crept into his stomach. Bugsy had once said it was silly that he was entrusted to protect the weaknesses of the Fire type Legendary Dog, considering his entire gym was weak to Fire types. A plaque was apparently in every gym, detailing a specific fact about each of the Legendary Dogs. And Ecruteak City was the centre for Legends, as the Dogs, Ho-oh and Lugia had all lived there. And Tin Tower had the entire histories of the Johto legends inscribed around the wall.

"The Legends..." Gold muttered.

Silver looked at his friend in concern. If the gangs were after the Legends, it could prove to be very serious.

"What do we do? If we attack, even with our teams, we'll be flattened." He said.

Gold shook his head.

"I reckon we need help. But the help we need is in Kanto, or are the Elites and gym leaders, none of which we have access to." He grumbled.

Silver grinned.

"So we go over them. Remember that massive twelve on six battle we had...which we still lost?" Silver said.

Gold grinned.

"Sharia." He said.

"Yep. Right, you go to Sharia and I'll stay here and keep an eye on them. You tell her we reckon the gangs are after the Legends."

Gold shook his head defiantly.

"No. If you fly up there you might be caught. People wont challenge you, you're too scary looking." Gold grinned.

Silver looked at his friend worriedly. Gold was quicker if he flew, but he could be ambushed easier. Silver was the more powerful fighter, especially since Gold had been coaching him on how best to utilise his Pokémon. And he knew the criminal mind better...

"You know there's no point arguing with me." Gold said cheekily.

Silver sighed.

"Alright, I'll go to see Sharia. You're scared of her anyway." Silver said.

Gold clasped his shoulder, and as Silver left his friend, he could feel a wave of worry going on. Something big and bad was happening. And worse, he had just abandoned his best friend in the world to the possible mercy of the Rockets. Fighting down a wave of revulsion, he headed for Goldenrod.

XX

Gold watched his friend go, and felt a pang of loss. Something serious was going on. He hoped Silver would be alright. As he looked at his friend disappearing, he never heard the Rocket approach him from behind and smack him on the head, rendering him unconscious.

XX

Silver got onto the train bound for Shinto. Worry for Gold punctuated his every thought as he looked around, conscious that the gangs were now technically in control of Johto due to the collapse of the gyms and the disappearance of Jasmine. The others vanishing during the attack had caused enough damage, but her disappearance had caused even more stress as her gym seemed to be fine. Meanwhile, Marissa, the eight gym leader of Kanto, had taken control of Johto as well to try and prevent anarchy. But Silver just couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong. He sat on the train, with only a few more nervous passengers, worried that they were taking a journey so late at night. Then the door opened, to reveal Drow and Ning, the two Team Aqua members he had seen milling about.

"This is the last train. The boss is going to kill us. Blue and Jasmine must have slipped past us and have probably gone to Sharia." The woman, Drow, complained.

"Maybe not." Ning said, grinning.

He had spotted Silver, and Silver cursed. If he was right and Aqua was working with a reconstituted Team Rocket, they were bound to know who he was. Unfortunately for them, he had turned his back on his family.

"Isnt that...?" Drow asked hopefully.

"Yep. Sonny, you're coming with us." Ning gloated.

Silver sighed. Didnt they get the fact that he wanted nothing to do with his family?

The other occupants of the train were watching in fearful interest as Silver stood up.

"Trust me, you don't want to do this." He said.

"I think we do." Drow said, as they threw three Pokeballs.

A Starmie, Wartortle and a Seadra appeared, and Silver rolled his eyes.

"Go, Misdreavus!"

The purple ghost emerged from her ball and glared at the three Pokémon gazing in opposition to her.

"Thunder." Silver grinned.

Drow and Ning's faces fell as electricity coursed from the ghost Pokémon, blasting their three water Pokémon. The Wartortle gave a cry and collapsed, but the Seadra moved enough to use Protect, and the attack coursed off, smacking into the wall of the train, which then began to move.

"Starmie, Psybeam! Seadra, Dragonbreath!" Ning roared.

Both attacks hit Misdreavus, who gave a screech of pain.

"Hang in there girl." Silver said, as he let out another Pokémon.

His starter Pokémon, the one he had stolen from Professor Elm, which he had since apologised for, roared into life.

"Feraligatr, Ice Punch!"

The large crocodile smacked Seadra, knocking his Dragonbreath attack into a window which shattered.

"Misdreavus, Thunder!"

The attack fried Seadra, who dropped down, leaving Starmie to face Feraligatr and Misdreavus.

"Feraligatr, Slash! Misdreavus, Shadow Ball!"

Feraligatr roared loyally, a vast improvement from what he used to do, and clawed at Starmie. Starmie was thrown over the room by the force of the impact, and Silver pointed at Misdreavus, who nodded happily.

"Finish them!" he ordered.

The two Pokémon nodded eagerly, and Feraligatr smacked Starmie with an Ice Punch, and it crashed into Drow and Ning. Misdreavus cried happily, swooped in and let loose a Thunder attack, defeating the Starmie. Drow and Ning looked at their defeated Pokémon and then at each other worriedly. The train was picking up speed and the threatening parties were taken out.

"Feraligatr, Hydro Pump!"

The large crocodile nodded eagerly, and a torrent of water smacked into the two, blowing them out the rapidly accelerating train and smacking them into the bushes at the side of the track, crying and cursing as they did so. Silver patted Feraligatr's side and smiled at Misdreavus, unable to pat her as she took offence when someone put their hand through her. Cheers and whistles came from the rest of the train's occupants, and the two Pokémon bowed, and Silver grinned.

"Thank you." He said, taking his seat again.

And then the worry, of what was going on, and for Gold, returned.

XX

Drow pulled herself out of a thicket of bushes.

"Damn it!" she yelled as Ning pulled his head out of a Rattatta warren.

"Do you know who that was!?" he demanded.

"Of course I do. And we let him escape. He's most likely gone to Sharia! Oh, what will the boss do to us!?" she wailed, and then an angry growl came from behind them.

They turned to see an irate Kangashkan, who snarled.

"Oh no. We've landed right in the middle of her territory." Ning said meekly.

Drow went for a Pokémon, then remembered that Silver had defeated them all.

"Aw crap." She cursed.

Then the Kangashkan smacked them both with a Comet Punch, sending them hurtling away.

"Looks like we're splashing out again!" they wailed, and disappeared into the dark night sky.

XX

Norman grunted as he slammed the door shut. He was thankful that his son, Brendan, was out exploring with his young friend Wally, and Birch's daughter, May.

"Who are that lot? Why have they invaded Littleroot Town?" his wife demanded as she helped Mrs Birch into a chair.

"I don't know, but it cant be good." Norman said gravely.

"I'd heard rumours that the gyms and Elites of Kanto and Johto have fallen in a massive attack. They must be after something." Birch panted.

"In the gyms?" his wife asked, terrified.

"But surely there's nothing of interest in the gyms other than the badges. And stealing them doesn't get them anywhere." Norman's wife said.

"That's right. There's nothing to interest Team Magma in any gym aside from Flannery's, but I received a text from her that Team Magma had moved into Lavaridge. Apparently, all the other gyms are receiving the same treatment." Norman said, frowning, as he heard the Magmas break down Birch's house door.

"What about Wallace?" Birch asked, his breath returning.

"Apparently, Magmas have surrounded his gym, but people clad only in black have arrived. I think this could be part of something very big." Norman said, letting out his Pokémon to defend the door, as did Birch.

"A coup?" Mrs Birch suggested half-heartedly.

Norman's wife shook her head.

"Cant be. Everyone would rebel, and if they did that the Elite Four would flatten them."

"Unless they had help...all contact with the Indigo Plateau has been cut off." Birch said worriedly.

"And all but one of the gyms in Kanto. Johto is completely blind and deaf." Norman said, biting his lip.

"But why attack the gyms? And the elites?" Birch asked.

"The Elites to give them a clear field. But why the gyms? Unless this is a power ploy..." Mrs Birch reasoned

Norman frowned, just as the door banged open, and a man with a black suit and a red cape with flaming red hair entered.

"Leader Norman, Professor Birch, I'm sorry to barge in like this. I'm afraid you must all come with me." He said.

"Who are you?" Norman's wife demanded.

"I am Maxie of Team Magma. And really Leader, I had no reason to come here. If you had been at the gym none of this would have happened."

Norman pondered. They wanted the gym, only to destroy it? Then it must be something in the gym...

"You're after the Legends!" he realised.

Maxie smiled evilly.

"Yes we are. I believe you have the one detailing the weaknesses of Registeel do you not?"

Birch glowered.

"You will not get them." He promised.

Maxie laughed.

"On the contrary, I think we will. After all, all the other gyms are under attack. We'll have all the other plaques soon enough. And with the work of all three professors, we're bound to succeed. Especially when your meddlesome kids are removed from the game!"

Norman frowned, and Maxie then left.

"Huh?"

A gas grenade then rolled in, and both Pokémon and humans keeled to the floor.

XX

As in both Kanto and Johto, the process repeated in Hoenn. Flannery was overwhelmed by a number of grunts in Lavaridge Town, giving them access to the weaknesses of Regirock. The Fossil Maniac in Fallabor Town was attacked, giving them the plaque of Regirock's powers. The same situation happened elsewhere, the gym leaders being overrun by the Magma members. Not one escaped, and they were all carted off and their gyms burnt to the ground. And Hoenn too dissolved into chaos.

XX

May and Brendan, who had been seeing Wally in Verdanturf Town, saw the smoke rising from Mauville City. Rumours started to fly, and the TV was announcing the bombing of all eight gyms.

"Dad..." May said worriedly as an image of a ransacked Littleroot Town came up.

"He'll be fine. Trust me." Brendan soothed, worried about his own father.

"And go where? There are no gym leaders to help us!" Wally complained.

May looked worriedly out at the flames, and she blinked tears from her eyes. Brendan, apparently the leader of the group, fought the urge to comfort her in order to decide on their next move.

"We need to get to Evergrande. If the Elites are still in one piece we can get them to help." He said, to reluctant nods.

The three let out Pokémon, May letting out Swellow, Brendan letting out Pelipper and Wally letting out Altaria.

"Wally, where are you going?" his aunt demanded as she rushed out of her house.

"Dont worry, I'm with May and Brendan. We'll see you soon!" he called, and the three vanished.

During the flight, where they couldn't hear each other speak, both May and Brendan fretted about their fathers. Brendan looked down to where Petalburg gym used to be as they flew over the vast countryside of Hoenn. The blackened crater filled him with worry. What was going on?

May cast her eyes to where Littleroot Town was, hidden by clouds. Her father had been ambushed, and most of the inhabitants had been dragged off. Something sinister was going on, and she hoped they would find out soon.

They arrived in Evergrande, to find the lobby of the League deserted. The nurse and the shop tender had vanished, along with the two guards. Brendan frowned. There were no signs of a battle, so where was everyone?

"Come on." May said, heading up the stairs towards the battle rooms.

"This is creepy. There's no one here." Wally moaned.

They went through all the rooms, coming to Hall of Fame and finding no one.

"Where is everyone? Have they been taken out too?" May asked worriedly.

Wally then whirled around as he heard a rustle. The other two span around, Pokeballs in hand, and they found Phoebe, one of the Elite Four, glaring at them.

"Oh it's you three. What are you doing here? Don't you know it's not safe?" she demanded angrily.

May nodded.

"We know, whats going on? Where is everyone?" she asked worriedly.

Phoebe gave a weary sigh.

"I don't know. We heard what had happened to the Kanto Elite, and we decided to split up and go into hiding until we know what's going on. The gym leaders are all gone, but if we can avoid whats happened everywhere else, we might stop Hoenn collapsing into anarchy. We've decided to split up, and we'll rally when we know more. You lot shouldn't be here." She said.

Brendan shook his head.

"None of this should be happening thats why! Our fathers are in danger, we don't know where they are! All we know is that something has happened and has attacked all over Hoenn, and something has taken down Kanto and Johto too! All contact has been cut off, and all the gyms have been razed! We want to help, and if we can, stop whatever's going on!" he said, to Wally's nods.

Phoebe grinned.

"You three are a marvel. And I believe you may be able to help. I'm going to Mt Pyre to check my family is alright, then I plan to go north to meet the Supreme Master. You coming?" she asked.

May nodded.

"Yeah, we want to help."

"Good, come on." She said, letting out her Claydol.

"How will he help?" Wally asked.

"By teleporting us, unless you'd rather walk." She said, winking.

They grasped his hands, and with a flash they arrived at the top of Mt Pyre.

"No..." Phoebe gasped.

The old man and woman who guarded the Red and Blue Orbs were dead, their broken bodies splayed over the altar.

"Grandma, grandpa..." Phoebe moaned, then knelt down beside them and wept.

"Why did they kill them?" May asked tearfully, and Brendan pulled her into a hug.

"Claydol..." Claydol said, holding his trainer's shoulder as she cried over their dead bodies.

Wally looked at her sadly, looking at the dead bodies.

"Where are the orbs?" he asked worriedly.

Phoebe gave a deep breath and looked up with watery eyes.

"Oh no...the Legends." She gasped.

Brendan cursed.

"They're trying to release Groudon and Kyogre again. Aqua and Magma must be working together to do this." He growled.

Phoebe stood up.

"Help me...help me get them out of here." She said tearfully.

Claydol gathered them all to him, and Brendan and Wally, holding Phoebe's dead grandparents, all disappeared as Claydol took them far away.

XX

Sharia frowned as Red brought her a cup of tea.

"You haven't tasted it yet." He said grumpily.

"It's not that. I'm sure the tea will be fine. It's all this. Hoenn has fallen now and I cant reach any members of the Elite." She grumbled as she poured over the large table which was covered with maps, diagrams and plans of buildings.

"Maybe they escaped?" Red suggested hopefully.

Sharia nodded.

"Granted, they may have learned from what happened to the others. The fact is at the moment the only ones who know the truth are you and me, and good though I am, I cant fight an army of Rockets, Aquas and Magmas on my own. We need help." She said, frowning.

Red looked at the Grand Master. He had last seen her a year ago, and since then she had aged considerably. Wrinkles were becoming more pronounced, as were grey hairs, and she was looking very tired and drawn out.

"You reckon it is all three gangs working together?" he asked.

"Yes. Team Rocket, even with exponential growth, would not be able to bring down all three regions without support from the other two groups. I only hope some other trainers have escaped. I have told Marissa to stand firm in face of this threat. Due to the defeat of the Elites, she is now the highest ranking member of the establishment in both Kanto and Johto. I would love to say Hoenn has still got the Elites but I cant be sure." She said, closing her eyes and trying to discern individual matters.

"What about the professors? Why take all of them out?" Red asked.

"I don't know. I only assume that their research may help them get whatever it is they're after. We will find them, I promise you that." She said.

Just then, the bell rang.

"Who do you suppose?" Sharia asked and bustled off.

Red looked at the back of the Supreme Master. She was thoroughly rattled by all that was going on, made worse by the fact that she didn't know what was truly going on. And when things were bad enough to worry her, they should be enough to terrify everyone else.

Sharia opened the door to find Blue and Jasmine, mercifully returned to normal, standing outside in the snow.

"Hello Sharia." Blue said gravely.

"Blue! My goodness my dear, come in from the cold at once!" she said and bustled them into the house.

Her Dratini then appeared and took their wet coats and slithered off with them, while a Machamp carried off their small bags.

"Red!" Blue said in relief and the two clasped wrists in joy, as Jasmine edged into the room, followed by Sharia.

"Come in lass, don't be shy, I don't bite." Sharia said, ushering her in.

"Hey Jasmine." Red said as she entered.

"It's good to see you both. Thank goodness someone managed to escape the gym debacle." Sharia said, as a Jynx bustled through with two cups of tea.

"Sharia, I must talk with you. I think I know what all this is about." Jasmine said, looking awed to be in the presence of the boss of all her bosses.

Sharia smiled at her kindly.

"Take a deep breath dear. I'm just an ordinary old woman with a house full of Pokémon, even if I am the Supreme Master. Calm down, and tell me what your suspicions are." She said.

Blue grinned at Sharia thankfully. Since they had arrived in Shinto Jasmine had gone quiet, worried that she was about to meet the Supreme Master after abandoning her gym. He had tried to assuage her fears, telling her that Sharia was actually a very nice woman, but it hadn't worked very well. He then sent Red a concerned glance. His friend's girlfriend was missing in this attack, he had to be worried sick. He could only imagine how scared he would be if he didn't know Jasmine was alright.

Jasmine calmed down.

"Well when Blue and I got back, we found a Team Aqua member in the gym."

Red and Sharia exchanged dark looks.

"She was trying to take the plaque off the wall, detailing the weaknesses of Suicune. Sharia, I'm afraid they're after the Legends!" Jasmine exclaimed.

Cold, fearful realisation gripped the room. Sharia's eyes widened and she grabbed the table for support.

"Sharia? Are you alright?" Red asked urgently.

"Yes I'm fine. Jasmine my girl, I fear you have rumbled our enemies plans. The gangs are after the Legends. And considering how well all this was pulled off, they must be after all the Legends, and control of all three regions to boot. This is very serious. The thought of a maniac like Giovanni in control of all the Legends doesn't bear thinking about." She said, her voice unsteady.

Red looked at them in shock.

"Are you sure?"

Blue nodded.

"We passed through Ecruteak on our way up here. It was crawling with Rockets, Aqua and Magma members. They aren't kidding on. They're after the Legends."

"Which means Hoenn is the same, hence why I cant raise the Elite. They've been attacked as well, either that or they put the Pokémon League Plan C into action." Sharia said.

"Plan C? Whats Plan A and B?" Red asked interestedly.

Sharia grinned.

"Plan A is talk things over calmly. Plan B is deny all responsibility."

"So what's Plan C?" Blue asked.

"Make a run for it." Sharia said with a wink and she sat down with her tea.

"You did the right thing Jasmine. It was better not putting yourself into danger and telling me this rather than trying to defend your ground." She soothed.

Jasmine smiled at her, relaxing at last.

"Right, so..." Sharia began as the door rung again.

"Pardon." She said, vanishing.

Blue clapped Red on the shoulder.

"Misty will be fine."

"Quite. I don't think the Rockets would actually kill the gym leaders. They would incur the wrath of the public too quickly if they did that." Jasmine soothed.

Sharia came in, bearing a shivering Silver.

"Hey Silver." Blue said.

Jasmine smiled at him. Considering their first battle he'd been so full of rage, he had since apologised to her and they were quite friendly.

"Silver, you must be frozen." She said, going to find a fire type among Sharia's Pokémon, which basically walked around the house as they pleased.

"You should find Flareon in the kitchen. She's cooking the steaks for dinner." Sharia said, giving Silver a towel that a Vigoroth brought him.

"Thank you Sharia." He said gratefully.

"Where's Gold?" Red asked in concern as Flareon entered the room, warming them all up.

Silver looked uneasy.

"He stayed in Ecruteak to keep an eye on Executive Athena." He said.

Sharia narrowed her eyes.

"Athena. That sycophant. I fear we can basically admit that Giovanni is back. She would never agree to anything this big without his approval." She grumbled as a Nidoqueen entered bearing a tea tray for them all.

"Oh great." Silver muttered, earning a sympathetic glance from Sharia.

"Right, so let's take count. What the hell is going on?" Red asked.

Sharia sighed.

"Team Rocket, Aqua and Magma have all joined together and are trying to get their hands on the Legendary Pokémon. We can also assume that Giovanni is back. The gyms across Kanto, Johto and Hoenn have all been attacked, and the gym leaders captured or worse, aside from Marissa and Jasmine. The Kanto/Johto Elite have also been taken out, as have all the professors."

"What!?" Blue demanded worriedly.

"Didn't you know? Professor Oak was the first one to fall I'm afraid my dear." Sharia said pityingly.

Jasmine rubbed his back as a wave of worry crashed out from him.

"And the Hoenn Elite have vanished. The three regions are cut off from another, and it appears as if the teams have taken over the three regions, which doesn't bode well. Most of the strong trainers have been taken down, you lot were lucky to escape. Now..."

Silver stepped forward.

"Sharia, can you tell me if Gold is alright?" he demanded urgently.

Sharia nodded and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, her mouth turned to a frown.

"I cant feel him..." she admitted worriedly.

"What!?" Silver demanded, fearing for his friend's life.

"He's alive, but I think he's been captured." She said darkly.

"Gold..." Silver whispered, and Jasmine gave him an odd look, which no one noticed.

XX

While the five debated what to do, Claydol arrived in Meteor Falls.

"This is Meteor Falls isn't it? What are we doing here?" Wally asked, setting down Phoebe's grandmother.

"I don't know. Why are we here Claydol?" Phoebe asked her Pokémon tearfully.

Brendan looked around the vast caverns. They were in the peak region, but why would they be here?

"Phoebe?" a gruff voice asked.

They turned to see the dragon master of the Elite Four approach them, his Salamence plodding along behind him.

"Drake!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"What is it lass? I thought we said we would lie low before going north?" he said.

He then saw the two dead bodies.

"Oh my girl..." he said, and brought her into a hug as she burst into tears.

XX

The lot of them stood at the top of the falls, where Phoebe's grandparents had been laid to rest on a slab of rock which was gently floating downstream.

"May they rest in peace. And may we free ourselves from the very evil that killed them." Drake said as Phoebe wept.

May looked at Phoebe sadly. She could imagine how bad she must feel. And also, her own worry was growing more and more powerful. What if her mum and dad were the ones being washed off of the Falls next?

"What do we do now?" Phoebe asked tearfully.

"We need to find out what's going on. And if anyone knows what that is, it'll be the Supreme Master. Call the others lass. We're going to see Sharia." Drake said, to Salamence's roar of approval.

XX

Sharia looked at the three maps, each one detailing a region.

"The problem is, who do we go after first? Team Rocket apparently control Kanto, Aqua has Johto and Magma have Hoenn. Magma is the smallest, but not by much. But they've got the hardest job. They'll have to get Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, the three Regis, Latias and Latios, Jirachi and Deoxys. I dread to think what will happen if those megalomaniacs get their hands on the weather trio, or the wish maker. On the other hand, if the Rockets get the three birds first, it'll knacker up the elements, and if they get Mew and Mewtwo, the battle could be catastrophic. But if the Aquas get the dogs, we face the same problem. Who do we go for?" she asked.

Blue frowned.

"I reckon we should smash the weakest one first. Problem with that is, if we don't smash them quickly enough, the others will reinforce them as they have the most Legends to capture. Ideally, we don't want the enemy getting their hands on any Legends at all." He said.

"I agree. I have read enough legends to know what will happen if they all start fighting. And I dread to think what the enemy would make them do. We must act quickly." Jasmine said.

Red was about to speak when there was a massive thud outside.

"What the?" he asked distractedly.

"Team Rocket?" silver demanded angrily.

Sharia snorted.

"Not unless they have a death wish. Come." She said, and led the others outside, milling through the horde of Pokémon that lived in her house to get to the door.

They emerged into the blizzard that was going on outside, to see Drake, the dragon amster of Hoenn, along with Phoebe, Sidney, Glacia and Steven, the members of the Hoenn Elite Four. With them were three young kids, and Sharia grinned.

"The Hoenn Elite. I've been trying to contact you to discuss the situation." She scolded lightly as Steven kissed her hand.

"Our apologies Sharia, but we put Plan C into action." He said with a smile.

"So I see. You are all most welcome. This is Red, Blue, and Silver, trainers from Kanto and Johto. The other is Jasmine, the gym leader of Olvine City. Your four, this is Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia, Drake and Steven of the Hoenn Elite, and young May, Brendan and Wally, three prodigious trainers quite like yourselves." She said.

They all exchanged greetings, and Silver looked at Phoebe in concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Sharia followed his glance to see Phoebe looking miserable.

"My grandparents were killed by the attackers." She admitted.

Sharia's eyes widened in shock.

"They shall pay for what they have done. The gangs are about to learn the folly of declaring war on the three regions under my dominion. You have just picked our first target for us my dear. We're going to Hoenn, where we shall avenge your grandparents." She promised, to the grim nods of the others.

**The battle for the Legends has begun!**

**Kanto, Johto and Hoenn have all fallen to the teams now. And people are beginning to die. Will Red get Misty back? Will the other gym leaders be saved?**

**Next time we meet our first legends! What will happen as the battle begins?**

**I'm off to plot the sequel to this story, set in Sinnoh (as hopefully I shall get Platinum for Christmas:P), so please read and review! Speaking of which, is anyone else not getting emails from the site telling you about uploads or reviews?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

Capture

Giovanni smiled as he read the report. Articuno apparently lived in the Seafoam Islands, in the deepest cavern. She would be a prime target for his men. Zapdos apparently lived in a cave above the Power Plant and Moltres lived in the topmost cavern of Victory Road. This news was excellent. He looked at the first of his Master Balls, reserved for capturing the three birds. It was time to put the plan into action.

He looked up as Marissa entered.

"We have a problem." She growled.

Giovanni leaned back in his chair.

"Really? The plan was flawless. What went wrong?" he demanded.

Marissa rolled her eyes.

"The Hoenn elite didn't play ball. They refused to stay in Evergrande to get taken out and hence vanished. It appears they've set up a government in exile up in Shinto, along with Sharia." She growled.

Giovanni cursed.

"Then tell Maxie he needs to take them out when they get to Hoenn, which they most likely will. Take out the Elites and then we will have free reign. And do it quickly." He ordered.

Marissa nodded.

"Already acted on. What are you smiling about?" she asked curiously.

Giovanni grinned.

"We have located the birds. And we are moving in." He said with a smile.

XX

Giovanni, Athena, Lambda and Apollo abseiled down from their helicopter, heading to the bottommost cavern of the island where Articuno lived. As she was the first Legendary Bird in the Pokedex, she was first on their list. The three executives flanked their boss as they went down through the dark crevices that made up the island cavern and they detached as they got to the area with the currents. The three executives let out their surfing Pokémon, a Feraligatr, an Octillery and an Omastar, while Giovanni let out Nidoking. They followed the current and entered the final cavern.

"Ah, there she is!" Apollo said excitedly.

Articuno was sitting in her nest, a large, brilliantly blue bird. Her wings were tinged with ice, and she had a white breast with a long flowing blue tail. She fixed them with a baleful stare, and her wings twitched nervously.

"Don't let her escape. Lambda, you know what to do." Giovanni said.

The burly man stepped forward and let out his small, purple Sableye.

"Sableye, Mean Look!"

Sableye attacked and there was a purple flash, and Articuno let out a worried caw. Giovanni stepped forward, and she gave a screech and flew upwards. She couldn't escape however as she was bound by Sableye. She fired down an Ice Beam, narrowly missing them.

"Nidoking, stop her attacks!" Giovanni said.

His large dinosaur Pokémon stepped forward and fired a Fire Blast, impacting with her next Ice Beam. While she was busy, Giovanni took out his Master Ball and threw it. Articuno saw the danger she was in and pelted upwards, but the ball continued to follow her due to Giovanni's modifications. She whirled throughout the cavern, firing Ice Beams down at them, but Nidoking shot them down. Articuno then flew too close to the wall, and skimmed it, knocking her off course. The ball took advantage and closed on Articuno, capturing the first Legendary Bird.

"Now, the new world will begin!" Giovanni declared triumphantly as his prize returned to him.

XX

Sharia was looking at the map of Hoenn when she felt a sudden chill in the air.

"Did you feel that? Something is wrong." Glacia said worriedly.

Red looked down from the bluff, to see snow clouds materialising over Kanto.

"Oh no." He moaned.

"Let me guess. Team Rocket has captured a Legend?" Steven asked.

"Yes. And as they are snow clouds, I'd say it's most likely Articuno." He said.

Jasmine frowned.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

Silver, full of worry for Gold, looked up.

"It means that Kanto is about to suffer severe blizzards. And we cant do anything to stop them getting Zapdos and Moltres. If they get them, Kanto will become the centre for a massive blizzard, a massive heat wave and a thunderstorm." He explained.

Sharia looked at them all determinedly.

"We cannot do anything for Kanto at this time. Hoenn however, we can. Let us focus on stopping Team Magma, and then we can try and save the birds." She said, to nods of agreement.

XX

Giovanni next travelled to the Power Plant, and as they approached by helicopter they could see the cave that Zapdos was meant to reside in. He smiled as he beheld the Master Ball in his hand, with Articuno captive within. The first stage was complete. Now, Zapdos would belong to him as well.

"Boss...." Athena said, pointing outside.

Snow was beginning to fall, and ice was developing on the windows. Giovanni could see a cold mist coming in from Vermillion as well.

"It has begun. We must hurry and unite all three birds. Let's go!" he said.

The helicopter hovered outside the cave, and Giovanni stepped into the cave, as it pulled off. Zapdos was at the end on the cavern, looking along at him.

He was a large yellow bird, with jagged yellow wings and a long, thin beak. He had small, black eyes and he was sending Giovanni a distrustful look.

"Steelix, Aeroblast!" Giovanni cried.

The large metallic snake leapt out of his ball and fired an attack, crashing Zapdos into the wall of the cave. Giovanni winced as dust started to fall from the ceiling. Zapdos gave an enraged cry, and sped up the cavern tunnel. Giovanni smiled and threw his second Master Ball. Zapdos gave a terrified screech, and he too was captured.

"One to go." He grinned as he collected his second triumph.

XX

Professor Oak, incarcerated in a small box room in the basement of Silph Co, looked out of his window and saw massive thunder clouds broiling overhead. A thick blanket of snow had already covered the ground of Saffron City, and Oak knew with a jolt what that must mean.

"The fools. They're after the Legends. The only way he will quell this storm is with Lugia. But then...." he whispered, and realisation dawned as the full impact of the teams plan hit him.

XX

The storm was becoming worst. Rain and lightning thundered down on Kanto, as the elements were thrown into chaos by the capture of Articuno and Zapdos. Frigid wings, massive hail stones and mounds of snow also fell from the sky, making Kanto virtually unwalkable as it all froze over. As Giovanni approached Victory Road, far away, in the still relatively peaceful Johto region, Lugia stirred in the Whirl Islands.

_Danger_ he sensed, and flew through his island home and headed east.

XX

Giovanni grimaced as heavy hail stones bounced off his exposed face.

"Can we hurry this up boss? I mean, I'm all for catching the Legends, but this hurts!" Apollo complained.

"For once, he and I are in agreement!" Athena cried over the wind.

Giovanni nodded and they struggled up the steep slope, through the pounding sleet and horrendous winds as they headed for Moltres' cave. Rain and hail lashed down at them as they made it to the cave, and pushed through inside, where it was at least warm. Slightly above them, on a ledge, sat Moltres.

Looking like a large, fiery chicken, it gazed down at them angrily, perhaps sensing that it was they who had kidnapped his brethren. As such, he wasted no time in swooping down at them, cawing loudly and firing a wreath of flame.

"Whoa!" Lambda yelled as they leapt out of the way.

They all threw their balls out, revealing half of their Pokémon. Giovanni cursed as he saw that he had sent out Metagross by accident. Moltres as such wasted no time, and bathed Metagross, Persian and Gengar in a bath of fire.

"Gligar, Mud Slap!" Apollo yelled.

Moltres gave a caw and ignored the attack, slamming into Gligar and crashing him into the fried Pokémon of Giovanni.

"Persian, Water Pulse!" Giovanni yelled.

The attack caught Moltres in the chest, sending him off target.

"Gyrados, Bubblebeam!" Lambda shouted.

The bubbles smashed into Moltres, crashing him into the roof of the cavern. The fiery bird gave a woozy cry, and Giovanni threw his Master Ball, capturing the bird.

"At last, the birds are mine to command. Now, for Lugia!" Giovanni cried victoriously.

XX

Sharia was just coming back from the loo when she took a look outside and saw the sun blaring down on Kanto. Despite that, she could still see a blizzard and a thunderstorm were in progress.

"Oh no, they have Moltres." She moaned, and wondering what she could do to stop this mess.

XX

Giovanni stood triumphantly atop of Silph Co, laughing as he observed the blizzard, thunderstorm and the effects of the heat wave he had created.

"Hahahaha! Come to me Lugia! You must end this chaos!" he said, and released the three birds.

When free, they immediately set upon each other, as if blaming each other for their predicament.

"That's it my Pokémon, fight! Draw Lugia to me!"

There was suddenly a break in the weather, a space of calm, followed by a beam of light. Giovanni looked up at it and smiled.

"Excellent."

Lugia then descended down the beam. A large white dragon, his back ridged with spines and possessing a black mask, he was magnificent to behold. He immediately began to sing, and the three birds began to calm. The hail abated first, then the thunder, and the heat began to dissipate as the master of the birds calmed his charges. Giovanni watched in wonder as the three birds stopped fighting, and peace was restored to the elements. The storms abated, and the birds settled down in front of their owner, looking resentful but calm. Giovanni smiled. They didn't have to like it, they just has to do what he told them.

Lugia looked down at the three birds, who were standing before Giovanni sullenly. He opened his mouth and a Hyper Beam flew out. Giovanni casually let out Gengar, and the attack vanished harmlessly as it hit the Ghost Pokémon. Lugia then turned tail and tried to flee, realising he had been drawn into a trap. But it was far too late. Giovanni threw the last Master Ball, and Lugia gave a cry as he was captured.

Giovanni smiled. One trio down, and one of the masters. Things were going well. Now, if he could stop Sharia's interference, nothing would stop him...not even those wretched kids.

XX

Sharia was looking down at Kanto, where the storm had finally stopped. The only thing that that could mean is that Lugia had been captured.

"This is my fault..." she whispered.

The others entered the room, disturbing her from her reverie. The Hoenn Elite, Red, Blue, Jasmine, Silver, Brendan, May and Wally were all there. Sharia turned to them slowly.

"We must retake the gym cities. Once we have done that we can call on all other trainers to help us battle this threat. I dont think it wise to split up between the three regions, so I propose that we deal with Hoenn first, due to the fact that most of you have knowledge of the region. I shall assault Sootopolis City alone." She said.

"Is that wise? I mean, you'll be alone." Sidney asked.

Sharia sent him an amused glance.

"Dear boy, if any of their goons can defeat me, they deserve to win. While I do that, I'm assuming that you lot can split between the other seven gym cities. Sidney, you take Petalburg. Phoebe, you take Rustboro. Glacia take Dewford, Drake you take Mauville. And Steven my lad, you deal with Lavaridge. Red, take Fortree, Blue take Mossdeep. Brendan, you take Littleroot Town, Wally take Oldale and May take Fallabor. Jasmine, take Pacifidlog and Silver, take Verdanturf. If we succeed, we shall bottle the enemy up in Slateport and Lilycove, and we can all converge on those cities and force them out towards Evergrande, which is bound to be where Maxie is hiding. If we can attack swiftly, we can break their hold of Hoenn, preferably before they release the Golems and cause more damage like Giovanni has unleashed upon Kanto by catching the Birds. Any questions?" she asked.

"What do we do if they use the hostages as leverage?" May asked worriedly.

Sharia frowned.

"I am hoping we will be able to avoid such a thing. But I don't know where they could be holed up. If we find them, fair enough. But they may not even be still in Hoenn. But I promise you we will find them. Now, let us prepare for a battle unlike which we have ever seen. By all rights we should only have to deal with Magma, but you cant be too careful. Take plenty of healing items from the larder. And I...I will take enough of what else we need." She said.

Steven sent her a look of concern as they all went to collect healing items. She smiled. The thing she was talking about wasn't bad. It just didn't offer the Pokémon a fair fight. But against the Legends, a Master Ball may be the best bet.

XX

Sharia was on her Salamence, and she smiled as they descended through the clouds towards Sootopolis. It had been a long time since she'd faced something like this. The fact that it was Giovanni didn't change anything...

They shot down, headed right for where the burnt out husk of the gym was. Three Team Magma members were milling about inside it, and she could see a member guarding each house and each business, and several blocking the Cave of Origin.

"We'll need to hit them hard and fast Salamence. Hyper Beam!" she ordered as they accelerated for the attack.

Salamence gave a roar of approval, and his first shot blasted the three who were guarding the ruins of the gym into the air. Sharia raised her hands and sent two thick vines streaming out, wrapping around the three and allowing them to crash, bound, back to earth. The other Magmas were reaching for their Pokeballs, but Sharia was way ahead of them.

"Dragonite, Thunder!"

The large orange dragon burst from his ball and jagged bolts of lightning shot down from the sky, frying the group blocking the Cave. Salamence landed and Sharia sprang off, creating psychic barriers to defend herself. Other Magmas were streaming down the stairs of the city, and two patrol boats were zooming towards her. Sharia grinned excitedly. It had been a long time since she'd done something like this.

"Metagross, Rockslide!"

The large blue quadruped leapt out of its ball, and a ton of rocks sent several Magma members sprawling, crashing them down beside the pokecentre.

"Dragonite, Blizzard!"

The snow trapped the lot of them, as the three Pokémon formed a defensive barrier around their trainer.

"Garchomp, Megahorn!" she yelled.

The ferocious purple dragon appeared, inserted his horn beneath one of the oncoming boats and sent it flying up into the air.

"Tyranitar, help Salamence with Hyper Beam! Bombard those goons!" Sharia ordered, spotting a band coming from the cave.

The two dragons pummelled the ledge, sending the Magmas hurtling into the water. With most of them there, it was time to bring an end to this.

"Kingdra, Hydro Cannon!"

The other Magmas were all blasted into the water, where Kingdra smashed them against the wall, before blowing a hole through the remaining boat. When all of them were up against the cliff face, Kingdra leapt out of the water.

"Thunder!" Sharia ordered, and both Dragonite and Kingdra let loose, frying all the last Magmas.

Salamence and Garchomp then swooped down, picked them all up and deposited them on the island at Sharia's feet. She created more vines and bound them all up, then knelt down beside one of them.

"Is that all of you?" she asked.

"No...Hank is in the Cave." One grunt said.

"Thank you." She said, beckoning imperiously to her Pokémon.

"Since I helped, will you remember that?" he asked nervously.

Sharia shot him a disdainful glance.

"What do you think?" She sneered and headed for the Cave.

She climbed the stairs, followed by her party. She descended through the Cave, creating a source of light as she headed to the lava pool. She entered, seeing Hank waiting for her, a huge grin on his face.

"Well well well. The Supreme Master herself comes to deal with little old me. I'm flattered. You certainly trashed my support. But once you're dealt with, that wont be a problem." He said, leering at her.

Sharia smiled amusedly.

"Simpleton. You have no chance against me." She said, and returned all but Kingdra to their balls.

Hank raised an eyebrow, and sent out all of his Pokémon. A Charizard, a Typhlosion, a Blaziken, a Ninetales and a Flareon all stood before their master, growling at Kingdra.

"Use your strongest moves and let's teach this witch a lesson!" he bellowed.

Streams of fire emitted from the team, and Sharia grinned.

"Hydro Cannon."

A torrent of water, spiralled with froth, came flying out of Kingdra's mouth, forcing the fire right back into their owner's mouths and sending them all sprawling. Kingdra continued to douse them with water, and Hank was looking at his defeated party in terror.

"End them. Thunder." Sharia ordered.

Kingdra, still streaming out water, then added electricity to his attack and the defeated Pokémon were zapped into submission as was Hank as he finished up.

"Good boy Kingdra." Sharia cooed affectionately as she put all of his Pokémon back in their balls and telekinetically lifted him.

Outside, she was greeted by the cheers of the people of Sootopolis, all celebrating the liberation of their city. The locals had taken all the Pokémon from the defeated Magmas, and Sharia added Hank's to the pile as she tied him up with the rest. She then created a shield of ice around them all, acting as a makeshift prison.

"There, that will do until I decide what to do with them. Now then, have any other places reported in?" she asked herself, consulting her Pokenav.

She raised it to her mouth in a conference call.

"Report. Sootopolis is clear. Is anywhere else?" she asked.

Brendan reported first.

"Littleroot is free...but there's no sign of my dad. Or of Professor Birch." He said sadly.

"We will find them, I promise. Right, begin heading to Slateport. I expect the others will arrive soon to reinforce you." She said as he signed off.

"I've taken Pacifidlog and I'm heading to Slateport too." Jasmine reported.

"Good girl. The Elites should join you soon." Sharia said.

However, she then became aware of a quietness that shouldn't be there. The Elites shouldn't have had any trouble liberating the towns they had been assigned. The fact that they hadn't reported in was worrying in the least.

"Sidney? Phoebe? Glacia? Drake? Steven? Is anyone there?" she demanded urgently.

Silence met her words.

"Excuse me...but it's been reported that Marissa of Viridian City in Kanto has taken control of Hoenn as well." A man said.

Sharia sighed sadly.

"Then she too is a traitor. I had hoped..." she muttered, but shook it off.

"Pardon me, but how does that make her a traitor?" a woman asked.

"The timing. She has just announced it, correct? As such, how could she know that the Elites were missing? It was reported in the news that the Elites hadn't been hit during the attack. Her taking over means she is taking over for her own purposes. She knew the Elites were going to be kidnapped. Which makes our job much harder. Without the Elites...it's just us." She said, phased.

"Yep, she's announcing their 'unfortunate' fate. She knows they've been taken. Damn her." Red growled from her pokenav.

"I've been a fool. Red, begin to attack Lilycove. I assume the others are all safe and are liberating their towns as we speak. Now, we have two problems. One...the enemy knew where the Elites would be. And secondly, Marissa is a traitor who we must warn the people about. Deal with Lilycove. I will go to the Weather Station and hijack their warning system. Keep in touch." She ordered.

"Thank you so much for freeing us. What is all this about?" Juan, Wallace's father asked.

"It's about the Legends. And you know what that means." She said significantly, as she let out Garchomp.

Juan nodded worriedly.

"Recall all trainers from Sootopolis. Guard this lot until I decide where to put them." She said, climbing onto Garchomp so quickly no one could have guessed her true age.

"We'll do that. Good luck Supreme Master. And please...find my son." He pleaded.

Sharia nodded in understanding and flew off for her next mission, leaving the Magmas in the hands of the ones they had persecuted.

XX

Sharia growled as she looked at the mess of the weather station. The transmitter, used to alert Hoenn to the arrival of extreme weather, had been dismantled.

"Damn it." She cursed.

Her pokenav went off.

"Hoenn Anarchy Services Limited." She said irritably.

"I take it the transmitter is down?" Silver's voice came.

Sharia sighed as she heard the resignation, and worry in his voice.

"Yes Silver, it is. Have Slateport and Lilycove been freed?" she asked.

"Yes. We interrogated some of them, and they told us that Maxie is holed up in Evergrande. If we hurry we should be able to stop them." He said.

"Very well. Have the others rendezvous with you lot in Lilycove, and put out a call for as many trainers as possible to come to the attack on Evergrande. When I arrive, we shall hit them hard and fast."

Silver grunted in assent, and Sharia smiled slightly. She knew the lad was worried sick about Gold. She had been watching many of the group she had assembled for many years, from afar, to see how they would transpire as trainers. Silver had come the furthest of them all, and still had a lot further to go, of that she was sure. She knew in her heart that the time she had assembled would be more than adequate to forestall the plans of the teams. But, would the timeframe allow them to be so?

Garchomp looked at her curiously, and she nodded. Time to get a move on. Team Magma had to fall, before they released any of Hoenn's legends. If they could prevent that, and if the dogs could give the Rockets enough of a run around until they were finished here...they would be able to do it.

"Come Garchomp, let us see what surprises Maxie has arranged for us." She said, and hopped on her dragon.

XX

Sharia arrived a while later, just as the rest of the team gathered. Red glared at the local commander, who was grinning evilly. Blue had his arm protectively around Jasmine, while Brendan was shielding May from his sight, as the man unnerved them. Silver was looking out over the sea, arms crossed and worry creasing his face.

"Talk to me people, what do we have?" Sharia asked as she swept towards them.

Wally looked at the local commander with disgust.

"This ingrate says he knows something, but insists he'll only tell it to you." He sniffed.

Sharia sighed. The kids had to learn how to be tough with these pests. Scare the pants off them, that usually did the trick. She let out Tyranitar and walked towards the leader.

"You have something you wish to say to me?" she asked disdainfully, fully aware that this snivelling ingrate was hardly worth her time.

The man guffawed stupidly, and she had a feeling he had only joined Magma to feel important.

"You've lost old lady. If you make a move towards Evergrande, the Elite...and the leaders, get dropped into Mt Chimney." He wheezed deliriously.

Sharia's eyes widened. The man was most likely bluffing...but the ruthless attacks against the leagues and gyms in Kanto and Johto added some veracity to his claim.

"He's lying." Red growled.

"We don't know that! What if he isn't and they to drop them in?" Brendan demanded worriedly.

Trainers were starting to mill about. Sharia had to make a decision. She knew he was most likely lying, and this was only a tactic to delay them, but she couldn't risk losing everyone of standing in Hoenn, especially when two of the trainers backing her up had a vested interest in the safety of the leaders of the region.

"We go to Mt Chimney." She said reluctantly, and motioned for the trainers of Lilycove to take watch.

"Sharia, it's probably a trap. Or a wild goose chase." Blue told her.

"I know. But, it is a risk we have to take, if only to calm Brendan and May's fears." She said, and the trainers made to get on their mounts.

Silver looked at the man, who was laughing wheezily. This wasn't right, something was wrong...

"Sharia, he's up to something." Silver said, sure he was right.

Sharia nodded in agreement.

"I know. But we cant risk losing the Elite. But I agree, something is not right. That's why I will go with you. If we are tricked, I will hopefully be able to delay the enemy long enough for you to escape." She said, clapping his shoulder fondly.

Silver smiled at the Supreme Master, feeling a strange sort of connection to her. How odd.

They took off and traversed the land, flying to the very top of Mt Chimney. Wally looked down, and frowned.

"Sharia, I don't see anyone!" he moaned.

They landed at the top of the volcano, the heat hitting them like an assault. Something wasn't right.

"See, I told you it was a trick." Blue grumbled.

But Sharia didn't seem to hear him. She looked to the desert below her, and a worrying thought entered her mind as the sandstorm cleared enough to let her see the cave where Regirock was said to reside. Eyes widening in realisation, she turned to look to the south, to where she could see the sea, and she had a horrible thought about why they had lured them here.

"Blue, it wasn't a trick, it was a wild goose chase. I hope to God I'm wrong. Red, go to Route 105, enter the cave, and check to see if Regice is still there! Wally, go to Route 120 and check for Registeel! Blue, go and check the desert for Regirock!" she urged desperately.

They immediately set off, and worry eclipsed her heart. The Regis...if Magma controlled all of them and combined them, it would bring forth their master, Regigigas, and the impact of that would awaken the weather trio...

The time passed in silence, May and Brendan still fretting over their missing fathers, while Jasmine tried to calm them down. Sharia stood looking out over the vast plains of Hoenn, and knew that she should have insisted they hit Evergrande...but in truth Maxie was probably not even there.

A few minutes later, Blue landed on Pidgeot and shook his spiky haired head.

"There's nothing in the cave, Regi or otherwise." He said.

"Does that mean he's been captured?" May asked in concern, worrying about what the Magmas could do with a golem on their side.

"Either that or he's popped out for some groceries." Brendan said flippantly, and Sharia, Blue and Silver had to hide a small smile as May glared at him.

Wally and Red both returned a while later, both with similar findings.

"Blast it, we're too late. This was used to lure us out of the way while they secured the Regis, and that means if they've studied them and pieced together the plaques, they'll be able to summon their master..." Sharia muttered, panic filling her,

"The Regis have a master?" Wally asked in confusion.

"Yes, Regigigas, a Normal type. He's very powerful, and the union of his three creations can awaken him and bring him to them..."

Sharia broke off as the volcano started to rumble beneath their feet. Groaning, she turned to face the volcano, and then a silver statue like Pokémon leapt from the cone, and landed on the rim of the volcano, his many red eyes looking right at her.

"Registeel!" Brendan gasped.

There was then a strange noise, and a blue golem leapt out, more triangular in appearance, and stood opposite Registeel.

"Regice..." May whispered.

And then a final golem leapt out, this one made of rock, and it landed, forming a triangle with the other two golems.

"And Regirock..." Wally finished.

There was then a cackling from behind them, and they spun to see Maxie come from the cable car.

"Supreme Master. Your realm is a bit chaotic of late is it not?" he asked snidely.

Sharia narrowed her green eyes, that were amazingly cold towards her enemies, when she normally looked upon her allies and friends with warmth.

"Maxie. You fool! Not only have you aligned with Giovanni, but you have engineered the downfall of Hoenn by allowing Marissa to take over! And now, you've unleashed the Regis! Where will this madness end?" she demanded furiously.

Maxie laughed, but as he did so, Brendan stepped forward, looking furious.

"Where's my father?" he demanded furiously, despite Red and Blue trying to hold him back.

"Oh he's quite safe, trust me." Maxie said, grinning maliciously.

Brendan gave an enraged yell and tried to get away from the others, but they held him back, while Silver strode forward.

"I know your type. If you've hurt Gold..." Silver threatened, and Maxie had the grace to look slightly worried.

"Gold, who is Gold?" Maxie asked, as he recovered from the threat.

"Silver he wont know, he doesn't deal with Johto." Sharia soothed, gently forcing Silver behind her as she glared at Maxie, her regal demeanour when dealing with such villains returning full force.

"You will not succeed. You may have trashed the establishment, but the people will rise up and stop you, and your allies. You will not triumph. And Giovanni will be stopped." Sharia promised.

Maxie laughed as his commanders joined him.

"Not any time soon he wont. If even the vaunted Supreme Master cannot stop him if she is too busy playing nursemaid to these children, we have little to worry about. Now, Regirock, Regice, Registeel, call forth your master!" he ordered, and Red saw the three Master Balls at his belt.

"NO!" Sharia cried, and went for her Pokeballs, but it was too late.

A stream of rock, ice, and steel came from each golem's hands and combined, forming a triangle. A glowing ball of golden energy appeared within the triangle, and Sharia sighed in defeat. Regigigas was about to be unleashed.

Something started to materialise within the ball, and it was white, covered with moss and gemstones, and tinged with gold, and was a lot bigger than the Regis already present. The ball travelled and deposited the colossal Regigigas right in front of Wally, who looked up at him in amazement.

"Wow..." he said in awe.

Regigigas looked down at him and waved at him curiously. While he was distracted, Maxie threw a Master Ball. Silver knocked the ball to the ground with amazingly quick reflexes, and he seemed quite surprised by his actions himself.

"Do not let him capture Regigigas! We're on!" Sharia yelled angrily, and released her six Pokémon.

Maxie cursed as the boy intercepted the ball, and went slightly pale as Sharia's group went on the offensive, letting out their Pokémon. And the fact that she herself had let loose all six of hers showed she meant business, and Maxie knew that if her six got started, Magma wouldn't stand a chance.

"Wally, use that ball to capture Regigigas! If you can control him, we can control the Regis!" Red yelled as Pikachu leapt at the appearing Magma Pokémon.

Wally dove for the ball, and Maxie cursed, letting out his Camerupt and sending him charging at the boy. Wally was knocked off his feet, and Jasmine helped him up, while May and Brendan defended their young friend with their starter Pokémon. Sharia hissed and threw a Master Ball at the master of the golem trio, but then there was a deep shaking of the earth that threw it off course.

"Oh no..." she whispered, as the Magmas Pokémon foolishly attacked hers.

Her Dragonite sighed and let loose a Thunder which dropped their Zubats, Golbats and Crobats to the ground, while Garchomp used Megahorn on many of their Poochyenas and Mightyenas. Kingdra then joined with Tyranitar to flatten their fire types. But Sharia was not watching as the entire earth began to shake, and a deep roar echoed across the air.

"Ah..." Maxie said triumphantly.

"What was that?" Blue asked as he looked nervously for Jasmine, whose Steelix was leering at a couple of Numel.

In answer to his question a massive red dinosaur Pokémon reared from below them at the base of Mt Chimney, with a helmet like face. It roared in rage, it's cries echoing outwards. The air suddenly got warmer, and Sharia knew they were in trouble. Their Pokémon, while powerful, would be no match for the three golems, even if they did capture Regigigas, and with Groudon now about to enter the battle, Kyogre and Rayquaza wouldn't be far behind, so they had to leave now if they were to escape with their lives.

"Never mind, let's get out of here! Now!" Sharia yelled, as a spurt of water appeared to the south, and a large shadow appeared in the air, and she knew Kyogre had just left the Marine Cave. She closed her eyes to use her Future Sight, and saw a massive green dragon rising from the Sky Pillar, meaning Rayquaza was out too.

Red looked up, and he and Pikachu went pale as the large whale like Pokémon flew towards them.

"Is that Kyogre?" he yelped.

"Yes!" Sharia hissed, returning the others and leaping onto Salamence.

Red got onto Charizard, while Wally clambered onto Altaria, and Blue and Jasmine got onto Pidgeot, all of them returning their Pokémon as they did so, and they flew upwards. May and Brendan knew enough of what the teams had nearly done last time to know this was very serious, as torrential rain started to fall on them. There was then a terrible piercing cry that made them shudder as the Magmas tried to stand firm against the downpour and the heat. Maxie threw another Master Ball and caught Regigigas, though how he did it when they could hardly see was anyone's guess.

"Get out of here!" Sharia yelled and Salamence flew skyward, followed by the last of her team, Silver on his Murkrow bringing up the rear.

"This isn't over Maxie! You may control the Regis, and may soon control the weather trio, but you have not won!" Sharia vowed.

Maxie laughed gloatingly.

"On the contrary my dear Supreme Master...we have!"

Sharia growled and they flew off to safety, abandoning the Hoenn battlefront, despite their earlier success. They couldn't fight against two legendary trios. Not without one of their own.

"Make for Johto!" Sharia cried as they flew through the downpour, and as a large, long shape dived down at Groudon from above, just as Kyogre arrived at the volcano.

They would go to Johto. They couldn't summon the dogs without the Clear Bell, which had been entrusted to Gold, who had entrusted it to Silver. And they couldn't get Ho-oh without the Rainbow Wing, which Gold had. And the Kimono Girls wouldn't help them, so they still had a chance to capture that lot. Then they could return to Hoenn, and save the trios from Magma.

Silver looked north determinedly. They were finally going to Johto, to save Gold.

"Hang on Gold, I'm coming." He vowed, narrowing his eyes.

**Greetings to you all!**

**We were so close, but the bad guys are once more a step ahead of us! Now they have the birds, Lugia, the golems and Regigigas, and they will most likely soon have the weather trio as well! Sharia was right to retreat, and now we head to Johto.**

**Will Silver find Gold there? Will our side capture a legendary trio? Will we find any gym leaders? Will the world be alerted to Marissa? **

**And why was Sharia hoping Marissa wasnt a traitor? Why does Silver feel drawn to her? All will be revealed in time!**

**Next time, we go to Johto! What will happen there? A massive battle is brewing...**

**Right, I dont know when this will be updated, as I still have to finish the massive Charmed oneshot and chapter six of season nine, but we shall see after that!**

**Enjoy, please read and review!**

**P.S If anyone knows how to use the GTS system on Platinum for Pokemon you havent seen in your Pokedex, could they please let me know? And why is it so hard to get a Manaphy and a Spiritomb?**

**P.P.S Pokemon Black and White has been announced! I wish they'd hurry up and reveal all the Pokemon on it :P**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

Reckoning

They travelled for miles, heading north east. Once they had cleared Hoenn, where the weather system was going nuts, confirming that the Magmas had their hands on the Weather Trio, they headed off to the east, veering away to Knot Island so as to access the Pokémon centre and recover.

The Sevii Islands had been largely unharmed by the trepidations of the enemy, with only a couple of Rockets doing the occasional fly by to check their enemy hadn't arrived here and was holing up there for safety. Nevertheless, none of them thought it odd when a strange mist surrounded the islands, blocking everyone from view and allowing the exhausted party to land and heal.

While Sharia fiddled with the computer, trying to do something or other, the strain was clearly getting to the rest of them. Red was gazing out of the window, to where the cloudy area of Kanto and Johto could be seen. Misty was out there, in the hands of Team Rocket, and who knew what was befalling her. Blue meanwhile was tense, and refused to let go of Jasmine's hand. Oak had been a prime target, an aging man alone in his lab. Giovanni would have loved to have taken him out straight off. May, Brendan and Wally were deep in discussion, looking concerned and worried about their families and whatever the teams had planned next. And Silver was the worst of all, looking stonily out at Johto with his hand on his glass, his concern for Gold being the only thing that was going through his mind.

Sharia bid Kingdra farewell as she placed him in the box. This sort of thing required her strongest Pokémon. It was time for all six pseudo-legends to be set loose on their enemies and see how well they fared against that.

"Look, I know we're all concerned. The teams now have many of the legends and that isn't good news, I readily admit that. However, we do have an advantage in Johto. They need to be able to summon Ho-oh and the dogs, but they need the help of the Kimono girls in order to do so, and along with that, they need the Clear Bell, which they don't have, to summon Suicune, who in turn can summon Raikou and Entei. We still have a chance." Sharia said firmly, her robes swishing around her as she paced.

"But how can we be sure they don't have them already?" May asked worriedly.

"They don't have the Bell because I have it." Silver said quietly, and Sharia grinned.

"Indeed. Along with that, the Rainbow Wing belongs to Gold. Even though he has been captured, they can't use the Rainbow Wing to summon Ho-oh unless they have the help of the Kimono girls and the Clear Bell."

Blue grinned.

"Meaning that as soon as we get to Ecruteak they're going to be on us like a plague of locusts."

"Indeed." Jasmine said, not sharing her boyfriend's enthusiasm for the coming conflict.

"Don't worry. They're going to get quite a shock when we attack. Right, I don't see any point in dallying about. As soon as we get over Johto, we head straight there. Blue, Jasmine, I want you two to secure the centre and the Kimono girls' studio. I doubt they're still inside, but we can live in hope. Silver, you, Red and I will take Bell Tower. Brendan, May, make sure there's no one in Burned Tower and then join us. Wally, secure the Pokémon centre as well, and then we shall see what we can do about summoning the dogs and Ho-oh." Sharia said.

"What about the Kimono girls?" May asked curiously.

"As they must know they need them to summon Ho-oh and the dogs, I doubt they're anywhere but Ecruteak. So, prepare yourselves, and let us see what we can't do about reversing this catastrophe." Sharia said, and they hurried after her, getting ready to fight as they did so.

XX

A terrible fog bank moved into the bay of Goldenrod, sending the frightened inhabitants scarpering for cover. As they did so, high in the clouds, a group of people were focused on the next city up, and following Sharia's hand signal, they dived groundwards.

They levelled out and shot in from Route 37, with Sharia, atop Salamence, flashing through the city and then climbing up and over the Sage Trio's building. Red followed on Charizard while Murkrow pulled Silver up, allowing them to land in the misty clearing outside the magnificent tower. Blue and Jasmine, both atop Pidgeot, veered off, and they leapt off, entering the Kimono studio, while May and Brendan headed for the Burned Tower and Wally entered the Pokecentre.

Blue and Jasmine entered, and saw the Kimono girls tied to the wall, all five of them.

Apollo, Giovanni's right hand man, turned and sneered contemptuously.

"Ah, the last gym leader of Johto. Deal with her and her beau." He ordered disdainfully as he turned back to the Kimono girls.

Jasmine and Blue looked at each other in confusion as an Ice Beam and a Fire Punch nearly took their heads off.

Cursing they looked up to see two grunts, higher up grunts as they were dressed in white, one a tall bulky man with blond hair and sunglasses and the other a shorter man, with white hair and an evil expression, hanging from the rafters and grinning nastily, with a Hitmonchan and a Glalie appearing before them.

"Prepare for trouble and make it fast!"

"Now you've got double, let's have a blast!"

"To doom the world to annihilation,"

"To break good's power of domination,"

"To crush the hope of good true love,"

"To extend our rule to the stars above,"

"Attila,"

"Hun,"

"Team Rocket taking over as is our right,"

"Back off now, we've won this fight!"

Jasmine glowered at them and rose to her feet.

"Blue, deal with Apollo. I'll deal with these two bozzos." Jasmine said in a dangerous voice.

Blue grinned. While undoubtedly sexy her display was about to be, he did have to take care of Apollo. As such, he started around them, avoiding Hun's grasping hands and he darted up the stairs to face Apollo.

The blue haired man spun to him contemptibly.

"You insolent brats always seem to want to undo Team Rocket. Well not this time. Allow me to demonstrate our full power!"

He released Omastar, Blue released Nidoking, and the fight was on.

"Steelix, Earthquake!" Jasmine yelled as her own gigantic snake, erupted from his ball.

Steelix set loose, and Attila and Hun were dislodged from their perch. As they fell to the ground, it was time to make her move.

"Skarmory, hit Hitmonchan with Fly! Magneton, you're up, Toxic on Glalie!"

Her three Pokémon released, Jasmine leapt to Steelix and then started dashing up his body to her head. Skarmory hit Hitmonchan, and Hun gave a groan of dismay as his Pokémon slammed into the wall, defeated.

"Here pretty, I've got a present for you." Attila sneered, and grasping what he meant, Jasmine glared down at him, as Hun recalled Hitmonchan.

A weakened Glalie looked up at Steelix in terror.

"Dragonbreath!"

Steelix bathed the ice type in fierce purple flame and he too dropped down, with Hun snarling and sending out his other Pokémon, a Steelix of his own. Meanwhile, a worried looking Attila released all three of his Pokémon, a Hitmonlee, a Skarmory of his own and a Muk.

"Magneton, Zap Cannon on Skarmory! Skarmory, Fly on Hitmonlee! Steelix, Dig on Muk and hit Steelix too!" Jasmine ordered, leaping agilely to the rafters as her companion gave a roar and shot into the ground.

"This slut's moving too fast!" Attila wailed as Hun's Steelix looked around nervously.

Jasmine grinned as she watched Blue and Apollo battle it out. This was going well. Arcanine had just taken down Apollo's Absol, and she was trouncing her opponents.

Hitmonlee dropped, and she grinned.

"Skarmory, Steel Wing on the Kimono girls binds!"

Her silver bird shot down, flapping his wings and freeing the dancer's from their bonds. Skarmory then twirled in the air, shot along the ground and came up under the table, sending dozens of Pokeballs into the air, five of which were deftly captured by the dancers.

"Get him!" Zuki yelled, as Vaporeon, Flareon, Jolteon, Umbreon and Espeon leapt out of their prisons and surrounded a panicking Apollo.

Steelix then ripped up from the ground, catching Hun's Steelix in the head and sending his beast crashing to the ground, taking out most of the wall in the process. Steelix then slammed into Muk, and Attila looked around in shock.

"Iron Tail!" Jasmine yelled, leaping to her Pokémon's head again.

The two returned their Pokémon just in time as Steelix's massive tail crashed into them and the two thugs were swept off the ground and into the air.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they wailed before they twinkled out of existence.

Jasmine smiled in triumph and looked at the cornered Apollo, surrounded by all six of Blue's Pokémon and the Kimono girls Eevee evolutions.

"You won't win this time." Apollo vowed contemptuously as his Houndoom collapsed.

"Sure we won't. Ladies?" Blue asked and the girls grinned, drawing an audible gulp from Apollo.

"Fire Blast!"

"Hydro Pump!"

"Solar Beam!"

"Psychic!"

"Dark Pulse!"

The five attacks blasted into Apollo, ripping a hole in the wall and he went flashing off into the air.

"Thanks for the help." Zuki said, dusting herself off.

"Took you long enough." Another said disdainfully.

"Sorry, we've been busy. Who do all these Pokémon belong to?" Blue asked, indicating the balls that Espeon and Umbreon were bringing to their masters.

"The gym leaders are being held in the tower, along with Gold. There's an army of Grunts in the way though, along with that fanatic Boris." One sneered.

Jasmine smiled.

"Don't worry. We have a one woman army of our own. Sharia will deal with them."

The Kimono girls' faces lit up.

"The Supreme Master is here?"

"Yep, so is Red. We've got it covered. Bring the leaders Pokémon and lets go!"

Blue said and they rushed out of the ruined building, to see May, Brendan and Wally running towards them.

"Burned Tower was clear." Brendan reported.

"And there's no other Rockets out here, it's weird." Wally said in confusion.

"That's because they're all at Bell Tower." Blue said dryly.

"Not for much longer they won't be." Jasmine promised, and they dashed to the Sage Trio temple.

XX

The door blew in, lightning crackling and wind blowing, scattering the Rockets that were defending the tower. Solar Beam, Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam and Thunder then shot in, disabling most of the Rockets in one swift stroke. This was then followed by a Rockslide move, defeating most of the rest of them allowing Sharia to enter, her eyes blazing. As Red and his Pokémon saw to rounding up the defeated Rockets, Silver dashed into the tower, looking frantic.

"Calm down Silver, we'll find him in due course." She said, then rolled her eyes as she realised he had already shot up the stairs.

"Always on the move." She sighed and followed, earning a grin from Red as he tied up the last of the Rockets.

Silver vaulted up the stairs and various teleporters, having come here once with Gold just to watch the sunset in peace. He missed those light hearted moments. While he had never been the sort just to sit and watch the sunset, it wasn't in his nature, Gold had wanted to go, and rather than spend yet more time on his own, he had gone up with him. Now it occurred to him how important spending time with Gold had seemed.

When they had first met, Gold looked down on him as a thief and as a bully. Silver had looked down on him as a soft hearted wimp. But as they had gotten further, with Silver enduring defeat after defeat at Gold's hands, Gold, perhaps through pity, had started to like Silver more and more. He had made excuses to see him, excuses to spend time with him after he became Champion and defeated Red, and for the first time in his life Silver had had a friend. Yeah, he still spent time on his own, but Gold refused to stop seeing him, refused to give up on him. He always insisted that he come to his and his mom's house on a Sunday for dinner, and Silver did it, enjoying belonging somewhere that wasn't on the run or on his own.

And in the three years since, he had made other friends, sure, thanks to Gold. Even Professor Elm enjoyed talking to him now, despite having stolen Totodile years before. Things had certainly changed, all down to Gold.

And now that he had been apart from him, unable to save him...it was all his fault. He had to save Gold, tell him...tell him the truth.

But that meant getting to the top.

Finally arriving on the terrace just below the peak of the tower, Silver took the stairs two at a time and slid to a stop on the top of the tower. The remaining seven gym leaders of Johto were all tied up to the central spire of the tower, unable to move in any direction due to their hands and legs being bound. They all looked frozen, probably having stayed up here for days since the attack.

But Silver only had eyes for the one in the middle. Gold was slumped in his bonds, his eye black and blue and various cuts on his cheeks from where Team Rocket had been torturing him. Blood was dripping from his noise and he was stirring feebly in the vice like grip of a Team Rocket commander in a grey uniform.

Fury flooded Silver. Ignoring the two Grunts who had turned to face him he stalked towards the man. A tall man, heavyset with muscle, turned to face him, his evil eyes narrowing in irritation. He had an unruly mop of black hair and a fang like earring which hung in roughly the same level as his slit like mouth.

"Look whelp, I don't know who you are but you just made a hell of a trip for nothing." He said clicking his fingers.

At his command, roughly eight more Grunts appeared, surrounding Silver.

Pryce, bound next to Clair, leaned close.

"He doesn't look like he has our Pokémon does he?" he asked, peering with his eyes, as without his glasses he used for distances he couldn't see much.

Clair rolled her eyes. She recognised the boy, the grim, reserved fiery trainer who, with Gold, who was separated from her by Pryce and Chuck, had trounced her and Lance in a double battle with. She knew the kid had become a lot stronger trainer since then, but even then he couldn't cope with ten Rocket grunts and Commander Boris.

"I'm not interested in the rest of them. Give me the one who did that to Gold." He snarled, pointing to his friend.

Boris laughed mockingly.

"You make demands to me? I'm in charge here, and you're outnumbered. And besides, there's nothing you can do to me anyway. Yeah, I'm the one who smashed..."

And the next thing he knew Silver's fist lanced out and smashed him straight in the nose, resulting in a large cracking noise and blood gushing down Boris' face. Boris fell to the floor and glowered up at Silver indignantly, who was glaring down at Boris like he was something disgusting.

"You'll pay for that brat. Get him!"

The next thing Silver knew was that a Whirlwind move scattered all the Grunts to the floor, and then a Hyper Beam blasted into the roof, throwing slates into the air. Boris and the Grunts cursed as they were distracted, and Boris went pale ass he saw flashes of electricity coming from the terrace where Silver had come from. Sharia then dashed up the stairs, discharges of electricity hitting the binds of the gym leaders and Gold. Gold slumped to the ground but the other leaders, not in as bad shape as he was, glared at the Grunts who were now dashing towards them. Clare reached for the table and threw Pryce his walking stick, while she brought her own staff to hand and slammed it into the gut of a Grunt who got too close.

"Catch!" Blue yelled from Pidgeot and he threw the Pokeballs to them from above.

A steady wind whipped up, courtesy of Sharia, steadying the balls and allowing the leaders to get back their Pokémon. Smiling in triumph, the leaders each turned to a Grunt, while Boris got to his feet, cursing Silver. He then took a Pokeball off his belt and glowered at the one who was so clearly after his blood. Steelix then slithered up the side of the building, depositing a furious looking Jasmine as he arrived and she dashed forward to face a Grunt as well, while Blue, Brendan, May and Wally sent their Pokémon off into the air to dive bomb the Rockets who had been lying in wait outside the city, but whether it was a trap or not remained to be seen. The eight Johto gym leaders sent out their first Pokémon, while Red arrived and dashed for another Grunt, leaving Sharia to deal with the last, knowing Silver had to deal with Boris himself.

"Go Poliwrath!" Boris roared as he looked at Silver, and he had to admit, there was something eerily familiar about the dark red haired youth's glare, it was unnerving.

"Misdreavus, give me a Thunder!" Silver growled.

His purple ghost leapt from her ball and went immediately on the offensive, yellow lightning crashing into Boris' dark blue Pokémon. Cursing as Poliwrath wavered, Boris decided to try and distract the ghost's master.

"Yeah I'm the one who beat up your friend. All because he wouldn't do as he was told. I tried..."

However his tactic wasn't working, or at least not in the way he had hoped. Silver's anger was making him more focused and more dangerous. His hands were balled into fists and his eyes were blazing, and with his dark red hair it was making him seem all the more scary.

"Finish him off Misdreavus! Shadow Ball!"

Misdreavus cooed in delight and fired her attack, smashing Poliwrath to the ground and making the commander curse. Recalling Poliwrath, he glowered at Silver and sent out Flareon.

"Feraligatr, your turn!" Silver sneered.

"Flareon, Lava Plume!"

Flareon leapt into action, but Feraligatr was already on the move, Hydro Pump crashing into Lave Plume, pushing the attack back into her mouth and sending Flareon skidding along the water slicked roof. Boris snarled and sent out Electabuzz.

"Thunder Punch!"

Silver was already moving, returning Feraligatr out of harm's way and sending out Sudowoodo.

"Earthquake!" he snarled, and with one stomp, Sudowoodo brought Boris' last Pokémon to the ground.

"Oh hell no..." Boris wailed, and then it clicked as to why Silver was familiar.

"You're..." he began, but he got no further, as Clair's Kingdra set loose with Hyper Beam and blasted both her grunt and Boris away.

Pryce then used Piloswine to dispatch his foe. The gym leaders clearly had an advantage as Chuck's Primeape dealt the final blow to his opponent. Steelix gave a roar as he defeated Jasmine's opposition. Gengar used Shadow Ball and finished off Morty's foe. Whitney's devil of a Miltank quickly decimated her opponent's Pokémon with Rollout. Bugsy's Scizor dealt a final blow to the foe's Koffing and he dropped down, and then Falkner's Pidgeotto blew the last of his foes away. Red's Pikachu defeated the last Murkrow and Sharia then finished the battle with Salamence's Hyper Beam.

With the Grunts lying defeated Silver rushed to Gold, allowing Sharia to walk over to Clair.

"Leader Clair, it's good to see you and yours are all in one piece." She said happily as she shook hands.

"Thank you Supreme Master. It's good to see you." She said, passing Pryce his glasses.

"And you."

"Jasmine! How did you escape?" Whitney wailed as she hugged her friend.

"You'd be surprise what having another gym leader for a boyfriend can do." Jasmine said with a small smile and Clair grinned and gave her an approving nod.

While they talked, Silver picked a weakened Gold up and held him close to him.

"Gold...Gold..." he moaned urgently, wishing his friend would wake up.

Silver looked down at what Boris had done to his friend, and the anger pounded even more in his ears, fury coursing through him. How could they do this to him? He would hunt Boris down and skin him alive...

His grip tightened around Gold. He would kill Boris for what he had done to him. Him and he would smash the rest of the Rockets. How could they want to hurt Gold? He was harmless.

Glowering bitterly at the sky as he held Gold to him tightly, it occurred to him that that was all Team Rocket did, hurt the ones closest to him and take away the people who loved him.

Then he realised what he had just thought, and he looked down at Gold. His best friend in the entire world. The only one who had even bothered to get out of the cold, icy exterior Silver put out. The only one who cared about him in the world, the one who always wanted to spend time with him even when he shouldn't want to after how Silver had treated him, the one who always found something to like in Silver even though Silver couldn't see it in himself...

Realising that, he was touched, and tears pooled in his eyes as he realised that he thought of Gold as much more than a friend.

"Gold...I love you." He mumbled.

And then to his great surprise, Gold moved in his arms and looked up at him blearily.

"Silver...what?" he asked quietly, looking up at his long red haired friend with tears in his eyes.

Silver nearly choked. He hadn't expected Gold to hear his admission. But, the more he thought of it, the more he accepted it. He was in love with Gold. Not just friend love, not even brotherly love, but full fledged head over heels love. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't stand being away from him anymore, and right now, the thought of letting him go seemed horrible in and of itself. And, for the first time, Silver began to wonder what it would be like just to spend hours holding Gold, being with him, kissing him... and the thought of it was wonderful, it felt right, more right than anything else had ever felt.

Shaking his head he brought his attention back to Gold, and knew there was a very good chance that he was about to lose the only person who ever cared about him. Why couldn't he have kept quiet? Now Gold knew...what would he do?

"Silver, what did you say...?" Gold demanded in a throaty voice, totally ignoring his own wounds and was more concerned with the tears that were coming from Silver's eyes.

"Gold..." he breathed in shock, wondering if he could pass it off as Gold being beat up.

"Silver, did you, did you say that you loved me?" he asked hesitantly, his good eye peering intently into Silver's face.

Silver went bright red, the same colour as his hair and averted his eyes away from Gold. Yes he loved Gold. And for someone like Silver, who didn't have much of an idea what love like that was, it was too precious to want to give up. But now he had no choice. He had to tell Gold. Gold knew that he loved him, that he was gay...and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Gold...," he began , then realised that he was still holding him and gently laid Gold down, figuring Gold wouldn't want anything to do with him now, "I'm sorry. I can't help it. I could try I suppose...but I don't want to. I love you. I'm sorry about that, because I don't want to lose you as a friend, but I love you. I can't help it and I don't want to. You're the best thing that ever happened to me, and I love you. I'm so sorry." Silver said and was about to turn away, fearing losing his best friend when Gold's hand wrapped warmly and gently around his arm.

"You love me?" Gold asked softly, looking up at Silver pleadingly.

Silver nodded, not meeting Gold's eyes, and he could virtually feel the icy layer wrapping back around his heart. He didn't want to lose Gold, but now...now he had no choice.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, trying to pull away, but Gold tugged him back.

Silver then looked down at his friend, who was smiling cautiously.

"Don't be. Because, the thing is...I sort of love you too." He said with a half hearted grin.

Amazement rippled through Silver, and the ice suddenly began to melt. Gold loved him too? Or was Gold just reacting to being beaten up, or just trying to let Silver down gently? But then Gold gently took his face in his hand and pulled him in and Silver closed his eyes and kissed him.

It started softly at first, gently, hesitantly, neither boy sure if the other meant what they had said, Gold wondering how much Silver had meant it, and Silver not knowing if Gold was just trying to assuage his feelings. But then, as the seconds passed, the kiss became longer, deeper and more passionate and Silver pulled his black haired Gold closer and kissed him harder. The two boys kissed harder, more passionately as they realised that the two of them loved each other like they said.

Gold went limp in Silver's hands for a second and then a second later he resumed kissing and when they finally broke off, Silver opened his eyes to see a white glow surrounding them. And when he looked at Gold, he saw that the wounds Boris had inflicted were gone.

"What the...?"

Sharia, looking across at Silver, widened her eyes in surprise.

"Sharia, what did I just do?" Silver called worriedly, sharing the same shocked expression as Gold.

Rolling her eyes at the dumbfounded expressions of her companions, who were all looking at Silver and Gold in shock (whether from the kiss or the light she didn't know), she smiled at Silver enigmatically.

"Your powers just activated." She said with a smile.

"Powers? Silver has powers?" Gold demanded, looking at the guy he had just kissed in shock.

"Yes, he's an Abilitor. Unless I miss my guess, he just used Rest on you." She said with a smile.

Silver and Gold looked at each other in shock, and the others, recovering slightly, managed to send a surprised look in their direction, before Sharia turned to the Kimono girls.

"Right people, we need to get a move on. Apollo has doubtless told Giovanni that we're here so he's going to be on his way, and I'd rather already have the Legends in my hands when he arrives. Ladies, if you could begin your dance, Gold, if you get the Rainbow Wing and if Silver, you get the Clear Bell, we can get started." She said, taking charge.

Taken aback by the sudden change, they immediately got to it, the Kimono girls centring themselves while Gold and Silver, staying close to each other, fetched their respective items. Red and Sharia stood at the top of the stairs, flanked by the gym leaders as they did so.

"He's an Abilitor? What are the chances of that?" he asked, but Sharia didn't respond, and didn't meet his eyes either.

"Well who'd have thought it? They don't even look it, the red headed lad least of all." Pryce gossiped.

Clare shrugged.

"Doesn't change anything. Well, it might make him a little politer and that's always a good thing. He called me 'the woman in the weird outfit'." Clare said sniffily, making Jasmine snigger and earn a dirty look from her friend.

"Well you do look a bit ridiculous dear." Sharia said kindly and winked at Falkner who was laughing at the look of outrage on Clare's face.

"Aww come on, since Gold beat him last time he's become a lot politer. He even sat with me underneath the waterfall." Chuck said musingly.

"Oh great, another nutjob." Bugsy muttered making Sharia smile as Chuck glowered at the younger leader.

The Kimono girls began their dance, slow at first but rising in pace and beauty as they progressed. The Rainbow Wing in Gold's hand began to glow and hovered in midair, allowing him to step back. Red was looking at Sharia intently, and looking at Silver in turn, his brow furrowed. Silver stood and, looking unsure it would work, began sounding the bell, but of course no sound came out.

"I feel ridiculous." He grumbled.

"You look cute." Gold said quietly, a blush coming onto his face as he realised that Morty had heard him.

Sharia smiled slightly, but wished the girls would hurry up. One, Giovanni had to be on his way and secondly, she really didn't like the look of calculation that was on Red's face. She was distracted by her worrying as Blue and the others landed on top of the tower, looking concerned.

"Sharia, we need to talk." May said in a tense voice, dashing up to her.

"I really don't like the tone of your voice." Sharia moaned.

"Well, the thing is considering that this is such an important city, the nexus of Johto and the place associated with all four of the remaining Johto legends, shouldn't this place be crawling with Rockets?" she asked, and Sharia narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean?" she demanded sharply.

"That's just it, aside from the ones we've already fought there's nothing here. No Rockets, Aquas and Magmas at all." Brendan said in concern.

Whitney looked troubled.

"This place was crawling with them until this morning. Where'd they go?" she asked.

May suddenly went white as she looked out into the distance.

"Maybe into that thing." She croaked, and pointed.

Sharia spun to see a massive multipronged air vessel hovering towards them and she knew what that meant.

"Alright people, hustle! You lot, dance quicker! We need the legends here yesterday! Falker, Bugsy, Whitney and Morty, prepare for battle, defend the Kimono girls until we have the dogs and Ho-oh here. Everyone else, prepare for battle, we're about to be swarmed by Rockets." She hissed.

"How do you know?" Wally asked curiously, but it was Silver who answered.

"Because that's the Team Rocket airship, their mobile command centre." He growled, and Red's look became even more intrigued.

"You mean Giovanni is coming here?" Clair demanded, looking jubilant.

"Probably." Silver growled.

"I'll take care of him." Red stated, his eyes narrowed, but Sharia placed her hand on his shoulder.

"No Red dear. Not this time. It is time for Giovanni to learn the folly of challenging me." She said viciously, and they all looked at her in shock.

Pryce gave her a grave nod, then turned to Red.

"Take it while you can son. It isn't often she gets involved like this." He advised.

Sharia smiled grimly.

"Right. Defend the Kimono girls. And prepare for battle." She said, as Silver stopped ringing the bell.

Hoping that the legends were on their way, the group assembled as the massive airship got ever closer, the Kimono girls dancing harder and more ferociously as time went on. Sharia narrowed her eyes. It had been some time, but now it was time to confront Giovanni: her greatest failure.

The airship heaved into view, its massive downward pointing turbines sending up a massive storm, sending leaves and branches everywhere. The airship drew roughly level with the tower, and a door opened to reveal a black interior.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

Red rolled his eyes as Jessie, James, dressed in their white uniforms, and their talking Meowth leapt out of the airship first.

"Seriously, he sends you guys to do his dirty work? I'd hate to think you lot were the elite of Team Rocket." He said scathingly, making Blue grin appreciatively.

Jessie glared at him.

"For your information you little twerp, we're high up in Team Rocket. And if we're so incompetent, how come we managed to get your girlfriend?" she teased scathingly.

Sharia raised an arm, blocking Red's progress as he tried to leap at the Rocket.

"Steady." She commanded her side, her eyes narrowed, waiting for Giovanni to finally grace them with his presence.

"Prepare for trouble and you've got that right!"

"And make it double because we're here for a fight!"

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all peoples in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassidy!"

"Butch!"

"We're Team Rocket circling earth all day and night!"

"Surrender to us now, or you'll surely lose the fight!"

Two more Grunts leapt out of the airship, dressed in black, one with blond hair and the other with green hair.

"What, you two clowns are high up as well?" Blue demanded, having fought them on a trip to the Orange Islands a few years before.

"Yes, and this time you won't be so lucky." Cassidy said snidely.

Blue was about to respond when Attila and Hun sprang out, and they glared when they found Jasmine.

"Seriously, do I have to beat the crap out of you again?" she asked wearily, rolling her eyes.

Another group of Grunts dashed out, and headed for the Kimono Girls, still dancing urgently, but they came to a stop when they saw the gym leaders waiting for them. After all, Whitney's Miltank was famous for how dangerous it was.

Sharia looked dismissively at Cassidy.

"Look, to be frank I'm not interested in you. There's far bigger fish to fry in your wretched organisation. Where are your masters?" she hissed.

As she said that, the Team Rocket commanders, the ones who directed the Grunts on operations and reported directly to the Executives flooded from the airship, all five of them. Boris was among them and he made a beeline straight for Gold, but came to a stop when Silver stood in front of him glowering dangerously. Eric, the one who had brought down Lt Surge followed Boris and stood at the head of the Grunts, his bald head shining. Beside him came a woman with a sharp face and white hair, her eyes cold as steel. Chrissy was her name and was one of the most dangerous Commanders. Vera was next, a woman with bushy blonde hair and glasses, clad in the blue uniform of a Commander. Next was Malcolm, a dark man with a sloping brow and pockmarked face and little hair.

"My my, Giovanni has been recruiting. Flattered though I am by the presence of so many of Team Rocket's so called 'best trainers', and I use that term loosely, I want your leader." Sharia said, feeling her side tensing behind her as they spoiled for a fight with these Rockets who had turned everything upside down and had brought them this far.

"We're flattered Lady Sharia. It's been a while." Athena said contemptuously as she, Apollo and Lambda stepped out of the airship.

"Athena." Sharia spat.

Blue glared at Apollo.

"Haven't I beat you once today already?" he asked dismissively, and Apollo flashed him a wicked grin.

"This won't be like last time boy."

Blue was about to retort when Silver suddenly stopped glaring at Boris and instead glared at the airship. Seeing his change, Sharia looked up to see Giovanni disembark the airship and she glared at him contemptuously.

"Giovanni." She spat.

"Sharia. It has been a while."

The airship pulled off and assumed a hovering position above the tower, while Sharia and Giovanni stared each other down. The Rockets and Sharia's support formed a circle around them and they started prowling around the edges, a sense of danger, hatred, resentment and fury in the air.

"You've been busy Giovanni. I never thought you would fall this far." She said, cold disappointment in her voice as they prowled the edge of the circle the others had formed, the grudges and Kimono Girls forgotten.

"I fell because of you." He stated calmly, though everyone could see their hatred blazing in both their eyes.

"I admit I have some responsibility for what you've become, but not all of it. You fell into evil long after you left me." She sneered.

Gold looked at the exchange curiously.

"Do you reckon they were lovers?" May whispered to him, but he shook his head.

"No something else is going on. Silver, what do you think? Silver?" Gold asked when he got no response, and turned to see his boyfriend glowering, his hands clenched and his jaw set.

"Sil?" he asked but received no reply.

Giovanni continued his circle as did Sharia.

"I'm curious Sharia as to why you haven't confronted me before now." He said musingly, his fist clenched.

Sharia glared at him icily.

"I was foolish enough to still hold some measure of compassion for you and Marissa. Clearly I was wrong to do so. I should have stopped you many years ago. Compassion stayed my hand. Now that is not the case." She growled.

Both sides were looking at their two leaders in confusion. There was clearly a lot going on here that they didn't know about, and they weren't sure they liked it. The only ones who didn't look confused were Athena, who was looking at Giovanni with glowing admiration and adoration, and Silver, who was looking at him with utter contempt. But with all their attention forced on their leaders, none of them were paying attention to each other.

Giovanni looked at her, curiosity tinting his hateful expression.

"Yes, but why not directly confront me now? Why wait until here and now...unless...of course!" he said in realisation, and Red saw to his discomfiture that Sharia looked worried.

"You found one didn't you! It wouldn't be Marissa's, they're not in these regions, meaning you found him, found my son..." Giovanni said, his eyes wide.

Sharia then fired a rope of fire at him, making him curse and take a step back.

"You will not touch that boy." She vowed dangerously, her eyes flashing.

Giovanni wasn't looking at her though. His eyes were scanning Sharia's side, and finally rested on Silver, who glared back unflinchingly. He then smiled, a creepy, knowing smile that Gold didn't like one bit.

"It's been some time hasn't it boy?" he asked Silver, who glared, with dark streams of power rippling around his hands.

"Not long enough." Silver ground out, and Sharia then stood in front of him, blocking him from Giovanni's view.

"Of course...you wanted to find them when they were young didn't you? But you couldn't." He said smugly.

"Not for lack of trying trust me." She hissed.

Everyone was now staring at Sharia, Silver and Giovanni in shock.

"You nearly destroyed him as much as you destroyed yourself. But you failed dear Giovanni. He found someone to repair him, take him back from what a neglectful childhood under you did to him, found someone to turn him from something like you into a fine young trainer." Sharia said triumphantly, and Giovanni scowled.

"Made him weak you mean."

"Power isn't everything Giovanni."

Giovanni looked at Silver, glaring at him hatefully.

"Don't worry Silver, I'll fix you." He promised, and Sharia's expression turned thunderous.

"NO! I don't want anything to do with you! You left me! You left me because you couldn't stand the fact that he," Silver yelled, pointing at Red, "beat you! You abandoned me! You're twisted, evil, power hungry and wrong! WRONG! Just leave me alone, I don't want anything to do with you, not then, not now, not ever!" Silver roared.

Everyone was looking at the three of them, but there were looks of dawning comprehension and mutters among the Rockets that Sharia didn't like. Her side was looking at him in wonder and shock, wondering what was going on. Giovanni sneered, his sneer deepening when he saw Gold's placating hand on Silver's arm, and he turned to glare at Sharia.

"You've done a good job at turning him into one of your pathetic weakling supporters. Don't worry boy, I'll get you fixed up as soon as I deal with this old witch." Giovanni growled, and Sharia's eyes narrowed.

"I don't need fixed." Silver ground out.

Giovanni gave a bark like laugh, and then he stopped laughing as he saw the stupefied expressions on the faces of the gym leaders and Sharia's other supporters. Realisation hit him and his smile widened.

"They don't know do they?" he asked gleefully.

Sharia clenched her teeth.

"Bite your tongue." She hissed.

"They don't know...and if they don't know about that, they don't about him either!" he said joyfully, pointing to Silver, who suddenly looked at Gold uncertainly.

"Giovanni!" Sharia snapped.

Giovanni laughed mercilessly and sneered as he saw the comforting hand Gold had on Silver's shoulder.

"That's why you haven't confronted me! Partly because of him, yes, I'll give you that, but also because you were afraid your dirty little secret would get out! Hahahaha, this is precious!" Giovanni gloated and Sharia refused to meet his eyes.

"Sharia, what is he talking about?" Clair demanded, as this uncertainty was beginning to sap their sides will, probably as Giovanni had intended.

Sharia glared at Giovanni, but said nothing. Silver was looking at his shoes, ignoring Gold's questions.

"They don't know...they don't know who you are. Who I am. Who he is. Do they? Do they, _mother dear_?"

The entire area went silent as Sharia closed her eyes in defeat. Even the Kimono Girls came to a stop.

"WHAT?" Red demanded furiously, looking at Sharia urgently.

"Yes! Yes boy, your boss is in fact my mother!" Giovanni gloated ecstatically.

"What? You're his MOM?" May demanded in astonishment.

"Yes." Sharia whispered and Giovanni cackled in delight as with one swift stroke he effectively destroyed the morale of his opponents.

Red looked flabbergasted, and took a step back from her. Blue and Jasmine exchanged shocked looks then looked to Sharia in disbelief. The gym leaders's eyes went wide as one, and Clair's mouth even dropped open. May, Brendan and Wally looked at each other and shook their heads as they looked at Sharia, backing away. Gold looked at her in betrayal, and pulled at Silver's hand, as if to pull him away from her. But Silver was looking at her in wonder, hurt, betrayal and a little bit of something else, either hope or happiness, on his face.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you. I should have told you earlier." She said to everyone, but she was in reality directing it at Silver.

Giovanni laughed manically, and then turned to Gold.

"And as for you boy, that boy's hand you're holding, trying to make him feel better? He's my son!"

And that did it. The gym leaders all looked at Silver in disgust. Red glared at him, his face covered in betrayal. Blue looked at him in disbelief. Wally dashed away from him, and May and Brendan took a step away from him. And then Gold let go of his hand and stood away from him, his face disbelieving. Silver gave him a hurt look, but then his scowl came back and he turned away.

"Meaning you're my grandson." Sharia said, as if trying to give him some good news, and the entire gang of Rockets broke into laughter.

"Well then mother, hasn't this been a day for revelations?" Giovanni bragged, and Sharia raised her hands.

A ring of fire erupted from them, surrounding her and Giovanni in the circle the others had formed around them. A wall of flame then separated the Rockets from her group and she glowered at Giovanni in contempt.

"Well here you go then Giovanni. You wanted me, now you have me. Now it is time to end this! The Supreme Master of the Three Regions, against the Supreme Leader of the Three Gangs!" she spat, her robes billowing, and Giovanni gave her a predatory smile and stopped moving, directly opposite his mother.

"So be it." He said eagerly and picked up a Pokeball.

Sharia grabbed her ball and the fight that had been brewing all their lives began.

"Go Dragonite!" Sharia yelled.

Her orange dragon popped out of his ball and gave a roar as he saw the number of Rockets facing him. Giovanni smiled smugly.

"Go Kangashkan!"

And with that, the long awaited battle between mother and son was on.

"Kangashkan, Ice Punch!"

The brutal Pokémon leapt at the dragon, an icy blue fist slamming into him and making Dragonite wail in pain. As he staggered back, Sharia glowered at Giovanni through eyes that were narrowed to slits.

"Superpower!"

Dragonite gave a roar of understanding, and a glow surrounded his two hands, and he let loose a blast that hit his enemy in the stomach, making the Normal Pokémon sag.

"Rock Slide!"

"Thunder!"

A ton of rocks appeared from nowhere and fell onto Dragonite, just as he set a jagged current of lightning at Kangashkan. The two attacks hit their intended targets, and when the smoke cleared, Giovanni's Pokémon was unconscious on the ground, but Dragonite was clearly in bad shape.

Cursing, Giovanni returned his Pokémon and sent out Gengar.

"Return Dragonite. Go Hydreigon!"

A black and blue dragon, with two extra heads in the place of hands, roared into existence.

"What the hell?" Red demanded, beholding the fearsome Pokémon, and Silver grinned slightly to see that Giovanni was taken aback.

Blue had out his Pokedex, but all he got was an unknown.

"Gengar, Hypnosis!"

"Foul Play." Sharia said with a small satisfied smile.

Hydreigon gave a roar and his two head arms latched onto Gengar momentarily, and then a black beam shot out from all three heads. Gengar didn't even get his Hypnosis off as the dark power annihilated him and he floated to the ground, defeated.

Giovanni cursed, returning the ghost while keeping a wary eye on Sharia's support. He could feel the shock fading and he knew that if he didn't finish her soon, his hard work destroying their morale would be undone.

"Go Nidoking!"

The purple dinosaur roared into view, and Sharia returned Hydreigon to his ball and threw out another ball, revealing Metagross, the large, steel blue quadruped.

"Nidoking, Fire Blast!" Giovanni said smugly, and Sharia grunted in irritation.

Nidoking set loose with his attack, blasting right into Metagross. Metagross valiantly stayed up, though Sharia knew she had to get off a move before he fainted entirely. He just didn't like fire attacks.

"Psychic!"

The distorted wave fired at Nidoking, who roared as the pain hit him. However, much to Sharia's annoyance, he endured.

"Finish them off! Surf!"

A massive wave crashed over Metagross and he sagged to the ground, and Sharia returned him. She then threw another out, revealing Tyranitar.

"Earthquake!"

The entire tower shook as her massive dragon like Pokémon set loose with his attack, knocking several of the Rockets off their feet. Nidoking gave a keening wail and dropped to the floor, forcing Giovanni to return him.

Giovanni then sent out a Metagross of his own.

"Meteor Mash!"

The steel hammers of Metagross slammed into Tyranitar, throwing the large dinosaur off of his feet. As he slammed back to the ground, he quickly rolled up, avoiding another flail from Metagross.

"Crunch!"

Tyranitar's large teeth came down around Metagross and the blue Pokémon staggered. "Meteor Mash!"

"Crunch!"

Both Pokémon hit at the same time, with Metagross pounding Tyranitar whilst he bit down on Metagross' body. Both of them sank down, and Giovanni knew he was in trouble.

Recalling both of their Pokémon, Giovanni sent out a ferocious looking Golem, while Sharia sent out Salamence.

"Hydro Cannon!" she barked, and Golem never stood a chance as his lumbering form was nearly washed away by Salamence's attack.

Swearing, Giovanni sent out Persian, his last Pokémon, while Sharia returned Salamence and sent out Garchomp.

"Blast Burn!"

"Water Pulse!"

The attack was headed off by Persian extinguishing the attack, and Sharia rolled her eyes.

"Megahorn!"

Garchomp dashed at Persian, inserted his snout under her and threw her up into the air with it, and she dropped back to the floor with a thud, mewing weakly. Sharia smiled in satisfaction and returned Garchomp, dropping the ring of fire she had created.

"Whatever else may have happened Giovanni, I am still the master." She said smugly, and felt the morale of her own forces rising. She may be Giovanni's mother, but she wanted him stopped just as much as they did.

Giovanni looked at his Pokeballs and his Rockets, then smiled tightly.

"You may have defeated me in a battle Sharia but you will not this war..." he said, and her eyes widened in realisation.

"You wouldn't." She sneered.

He raised his hands, and she hissed.

"Get them!" she barked, and with that, Pokémon erupted left right and centre as the Kimono Girls resumed their dance with great pace.

And then Giovanni levelled his hands and a stream of dirt and sand erupted from each of them. Sharia snarled and two wreaths of fire erupted from her own hands, the two attacks colliding in the middle, and the fight was again on.

As the two Abilitors clashed, Red dashed forward to engage Athena, Gold made a beeline for Lambda and Blue went to Apollo. Boris and Silver then began a ferocious battle, as did Vera and May. Malcolm and Brendan then began to fight, followed by Chrissy and Wally and then Clair went for Eric. Chuck folded his arms as he glared at Butch and Cassidy, and then Pryce rolled his eyes as Jessie and James went for him, and Jasmine went to settle her score with Attila and Hun.

"Team Rocket will triumph boy! You won't stop our plans this time. And when the boy joins with his father, nothing will stop us!" Athena gloated as her Arbok reared, ready to strike.

Red looked across to where Silver was battling Boris ferociously, and he already felt bad about how he had reacted when Giovanni revealed who he was. The kid clearly hated the Rockets as much as the rest of them, and Giovanni probably even more so.

Red smiled, and let out Lapras. It was time to show the Rockets what things were really about.

"Yeah they will. He won't join you, and we will stop you. It's just a matter of time before you and your boss are finished. Now Lapras, Ice Beam!"

Arbok, Weezing, Wobuffet, Victreebel, Lickitung and Meowth all lined up and Chuck smirked, releasing his three Pokémon, Hitmontop, Primeape and Poliwrath.

"Oh look Jessie, a Hitmontop! We'll win big points with the boss if we give him that!" James said excitedly.

"Ah, but first you need to get him off of me. Poliwrath, Ice Beam! Primeape, Focus Punch, and Hitmontop, Dig!"

His three Pokémon were on the move at once, Hitmontop spinning and then slamming into Arbok, making the snake buckle. Poliwrath's attack hit Victreebel and it gave a wail as it wilted, and Lickitung couldn't manage to dodge Primeape's lethal fist, and Chuck grinned cockily.

Steelix gave a roar as he shot down at Atilla and Hun's Pokémon. Dealing with this pair twice in one day was far too easy. Muk was already defeated, as were Skarmory and Hitmonlee. Up ahead, Kingdra was decimating Eric's Pokémon, as his Zangoose and Seviper had been taken out while they had been growling at each other and now he was left with only Heracross. Jasmine looked to where Silver and May were having a ferocious battle with Boris and Vera. While she was happy that she had been right in her suspicions about how he felt about Gold, the news that he was Giovanni's son had shaken them all. Mind you, the way he was fighting made it quite clear that he detested the Rockets, well Boris at least. But...they would see.

Wally's Altaria cooed happily as Chrissy's Kecleon dropped down.

"You're good boy, I'll give you that. Have you ever considered a career as a Rocket?" she asked with a cool voice as she sent out Slaking.

"No way. I'm not evil, mad, bored, and I have dress sense." Wally said scathingly and she gave a laugh, a cold laugh, more of a cackle, and Wally shivered.

"You certainly have spirit boy. I will remember that." She promised, her blue eyes narrowed to slits.

Blue and Gold were battling Apollo and Lambda, but nowhere was the battle more fierce than the battle between Giovanni and Sharia.

Rings of fire erupted from her hands and she cast them at the leader of the Rockets, who in turn created a ball of wet earth which absorbed her flames. A vortex of flame then spiralled towards him, which he responded to by teleporting behind her and sending a ball of dark energy at her. The blast hit her in the back and she rolled to the round, before turning round and firing a thin jet of boiling water at Giovanni as he approached. As he cursed, Sharia swept back to her feet and jagged rocks were thrown at Giovanni, who hastily raised a barrier of light to block the attack.

As the two continued to fight, the remaining Grunts engaged the four Gym Leaders who were defending the Kimono Girls. As Morty defeated another Koffing with Gengar, he heard a cry on the air and looked up to see the rainbow coloured Pokémon approaching.

"Ho-oh! Ho-oh is coming!"

And the entire thing dissolved into total chaos. Sharia quickly whipped up a whirlwind and knocked the Rockets off their feet in order to prevent them getting the new Legend first.

"Gold, Silver, catch her and the dogs when they appear!" she barked, as Giovanni used vines to tie her to the ground.

"Do you think that's wise?" Brendan asked, giving Silver a sceptical glance.

Silver glared at him and took out the Master Balls Sharia had given him. He threw a couple to Gold, who was also glowering at Brendan and they looked up to see the rainbow coloured bird getting closer to the tower.

Giovanni then laughed smugly, and they heard a gigantic whirring noise as the hangar door of the airship opened and the birds and Lugia dropped out, totally changing the face of the battle.

The three birds swooped down on the combatants, letting loose with their attacks. Meanwhile, Lugia shot up at Ho-oh, Hyper Beams cutting through the air, making Ho-oh cry out in irritation. Sharia burnt off the grass vines and sent a wheel of flame at Giovanni, who countered by throwing a mud bomb at the attack.

"You will not get these legends Giovanni!" she vowed.

As she said so, a gigantic burst of water shot up from Route 42. The two fighters looked down to see the graceful, blue form of Suicune rushing towards the tower, giving a cry as it did so. The Executives looked down at it eagerly, but Gold was already on the move, rushing past Lambda and heading down for the ground, leaping onto his Noctowl as they did so.

"No!" Giovanni roared, sending a cluster of rocks hurtling at him, only to have them deflected by a blast of flame from his mother.

Sharia and he then re-entered battle, streams of fire coming from one of them and streams of dirt coming from another. Sharia then created a massive fireball, throwing it Giovanni, who easily teleported out of the way.

"Ha, you missed." He said smugly as the fireball hit the rooftop.

"No I didn't." She said with a smile, and he realised what she had just done as the tower started to sway.

"You lunatic!" he roared, sending a storm of jagged rocks at her, which she repelled with a gigantic wave of water.

Gold and Noctowl came to a stop, and the majestic form of Suicune looked at him curiously as he came to a stop. Lambda was floating down on his Weezing, but he had no chance of stopping Gold, especially now that Giovanni was again fighting Sharia.

"Forgive me." He said softly, and threw the Master Ball.

Suicune gave a roar of surprise as the ball hit his flank, and he was gone in a flash of light. Articuno high above gave a cry that sounded satisfied, and then swooped down at Gold. Ho-oh gave a screech, and seeing that someone had just caught one of her charges, she swooped down to protect this one who was doing her job for her. Sacred Fire erupted from her mouth and Articuno pulled off, cawing loudly as her tail smoked.

Lugia then gave a cry and swooped down, slamming into Ho-oh's chest, and the multicoloured bird smashed into the tower, taking a chunk out of one of the corners. The tower then began to sway alarmingly, and Clair looked down from her battle to see that one corner was aflame while the one diagonally opposite had a massive chunk out of it.

"Oh great. Time to end this I think before we all get murdered. Kingdra, Dragonbreath!" Kingdra opened up in concert with Piloswine and Poliwrath using their strongest attacks. There was an explosion and Eric was knocked tumbling down the sloped roof down the side, heading for the lower parts of the building. With a bang, the last of Jessie and James' Pokémon were defeated and they went hurtling up into the air.

"Looks like we're blasting off again!"

Butch and Cassidy were then carried off back to the airship by a blizzard from Piloswine, and Clair looked to see the various other commanders retreating back to the edge of the tower, leaping onto flying Pokémon and heading for the airship which was hovering into stationary position above the tower. However, while the commanders and Grunts were dealt with, the Executives were still fighting hard, and no battle was more ferocious than that of the two Abilitors.

Fire streamed around Giovanni, forming a circle and then heading inwards. Giovanni leapt up, and managed to stay high in the air. Sharia gave a curse and channelled the inward travelling fire into an upward column of flame that knocked Giovanni from the air. He slammed back to the floor and next thing Sharia knew she was surrounded by a whirlwind of sand. Giovanni grinned and a massive crack opened in the floor, headed right towards her. Sharia cursed and a shimmering wave emerged from her body. Raising her hand she gestured and the vortex around her transformed into a massive arrow which she blasted at Giovanni.

"Blast, I forgot your secondary type was Psychic." He hissed, creating a shield to stop it, but that distraction was all she needed because the crack had closed.

Silver swore as Boris grabbed an ascension wire and was pulled back into the airship. Looking around he saw that Red and Blue were now doing a two on three battle, or at least they were until Brendan ran forward to help them. Meanwhile, with the Grunts gone, May was directing Pryce and the Kimono Girls down the stairs of the starting to burn tower.

"Silver, let's go!" she called urgently.

Silver shook his head. Not because of anything that had gone before, it was pretty clear from their actions that both he and Sharia detested Giovanni, but because he was worried about her. She was giving the fight with Giovanni her all, but the problem was, her primary type was Fire, and while she knew some tricks and was a lot wiser and more experienced, she was beginning to lose ground against Giovanni, who was primarily Ground type. Silver narrowed his eyes. The man he hated, the man who had abandoned him after Red had defeated him, the man who had never been much of a father to him, raising Silver through brute force and uncompromising demeanour, the man who was now trying to take away someone else who loved him, just like he had tried to take away Gold and the others.

Giving an inhuman snarl, Silver drew on all of his strength, all the hatred he felt for the man and gave a roar, and a stream of black energy shot out from his hands and crashed into Giovanni's back, making him howl in pain as he was picked up by the momentum and knocked rolling down the roof to the next level down before. Sharia winked at him proudly and with a blaze of light she dashed after her weakened son, who was stirring on the tier below. Silver growled and was about to go help her when he looked to the side to see a massive duel going on.

Lugia and Ho-oh were battling ferociously, fire streaming from one and Hyper Beams streaming from the other, the force of their attacks making the entire tower shake with turbulence. May was leading the last of the Gym Leaders down the stairs, but she was looking at the legends in concern, fearful that their battle would prevent her from getting the others up. Giving Brendan a last desperate look, she followed Clair down the stairs.

With their two masters occupied, the dogs and the birds were unbound with their choices, and as the birds were bound to Team Rocket's wishes, they had to go after the dogs.

Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres swooped downwards, ice, lightning and fire heralding their approach. Gold went pale, fearing what the three controlled birds could do to him, and he released Suicune. Suicune gave him an appraising look and then an approving roar.

"Suicune, Hydro Pump!" Gold barked, and the dog obliged a powerful jet of water lancing up and smashing into the swooping Moltres.

The Bird of Fire gave a screech of surprise and he crashed through the wall of the tower, nearly taking a startled looking Pryce out with him. Moltres cawed loudly and shot out, igniting more of the tower, and impeding the progress of those trying to escape.

Meanwhile, while Moltres recovered, Gold still had Zapdos and Articuno to deal with. Articuno gave an angry screech and Ice Beam hurtled straight for him. Suicune gave his roar and the next second the large auburn form of Entei leapt into view, Fire Blast melting the attack and he slammed to the ground in front of Gold, still firing, hitting Articuno in the chest, shooting the Bird of Ice backwards through the air. Zapdos, seeing he no longer had an escort, squawked and pulled off, shooting upwards.

Entei gave Gold a sniff, and exchanged a glance with Suicune, who gave a roar. Entei then sat down in front of Gold and looked at him patiently.

"What you doing?" he asked the Dog of Fire, and he looked at Suicune and roared.

Realisation hit Gold. With one Dog apparently choosing to keep him as a master, the other one had decided to do so as well.

"Couldn't you at least move a little?" Gold asked hopefully, and Entei gave a bark that sounded like a laugh and he leapt into the air.

Gold threw the ball and with that they had their second Legend.

"You're losing Giovanni! We will get the dogs and Ho-oh, and then we'll see who the true masters are." Sharia said, advancing on her son

"Poor deluded old dear...you've already lost!" Giovanni roared and three columns of fiery dirt leapt into the air, headed for Sharia.

Silver looked down to where Gold had captured Entei and Suicune, and on the tier below he saw Sharia creating a wall of fire to head off Giovanni's attack. His head was spinning with what he had done. His energy had been black, which made him assume that his type was Dark. Snorting, he was about to jump down to help his newly discovered grandmother when Lugia smashed Ho-oh in the chest and the rainbow coloured bird fell groundwards with a screech. Silver felt a pang in his chest as the majestic Pokémon fell, and he wondered whether he should use the Master Ball if only to stop her falling on her head.

And then he saw that if she kept falling, she would land on top of Gold. Panic flooding him, he grabbed one of the balls and threw it at Ho-oh, and with a flash she was gone, and he used his powers to flick it back to him.

As the tower swayed, crumbled and burnt around him, he realised Ho-oh, and she looked at him pitifully.

"Don't worry." He whispered and patted her beak, before spraying a full restore onto her wings and body.

Ho-oh then gave a hoot of victory, stood up strong once again and gestured with her head to Silver.

"Wait, you want me to ride you?" he asked in shock.

Ho-oh nodded, and looking unsure, he climbed on. The experience was bizarre, it was like sinking into a hot bath as he sat on her back. She then gave a caw and flapped her fiery wings and shot upwards, firing Sacred Fire at an astonished Lugia.

Giovanni cursed. Where the hell was Athena? She was meant to be dealing with catching the dogs and their master, but she had already failed to get three quarters of them. Where the hell was she?

Down below, Sharia's supporters were running away from the tower, which seemed to be on its last legs. It was swaying viciously, smoke billowing up into the air as the legends clashed. Sharia's supporters had cleared the building entirely, only to be met with another force of Grunts that had landed from the airship, which was hovering out of the way of the smoke. Gold was sending Entei and Suicune against both Articuno and Moltres, meanwhile allowing Zapdos to go on a rampage and fire thunderbolts down at Red and the others, still battling the Executvies on the top of the tower. Swearing, they looked up to see the vicious looking Bird of Lightning swooping down at them only to see the bronze coloured form of Raikou leap up from the side of the building and hit the bird in a tackle that sent it plummeting through the burning tower, cracking the last of the supports and the tower started to lean.

"That's it, time to leave." Red said and leapt onto Charizard, watching as Blue and Brendan ascended their own fliers.

Athena whistled and the other two legendary birds broke off from their battle with the dogs and the Executives leapt onto them, headed back for the airship, which was now landing in the middle of Ecruteak, crushing the Kimono hall in the process as dozens of Grunts spilled out. Entei and Suicune dashed forward, launching their attacks with Gold sitting on Suicune's back as they dashed through the sage's temple.

Lugia and Ho-oh were still battling in the air, Ho-oh reinvigorated by her new trainer and by his restoration of her, and she was sending blazing attack after blazing attack at Lugia, who was becoming more anxious and finding it harder to avoid her attacks. Rain and sun were both combating for control of Ecruteak's smoke laden sky, and now thunderclouds were opening up, making the entire place rumble as the thunder clapped. Hail stones were mingling in with the bizarre weather now as the legends got more and more stressed and anxious as they battled. The two friendly dogs burst into the city, and their battle with their respective legends resumed, Articuno's Ice Beam freezing up the pond while Moltres' Fire Blast set the trees alight, scattering their Pokémon inhabitants. Lugia and Ho-oh continued to battle, Lugia's Hyper Beam missing its mark and blowing a hole in the roof of the gym, driving the trainers out, crying in shock as their Ghost Pokémon took to the skies.

Zapdos used his beak to drill out of the failing tower and shot upward, but the next thing he became aware of was some sharp teeth sinking into his leg as Raikou leapt onto him, trying to prevent his rival from escaping. Giovanni grimaced as he saw that the tower was about to crack in two. His mother clearly hadn't though this through. Time to escape this death trap before the heat in the air made her too powerful. Cracking apart the tier they were standing on, the two of them fell downwards, the air whistling past them as they did so. Sharia cursed his stupidity and got out that bizarre black dragon and flipped onto his back. Giovanni meanwhile conjured a whirlwind and gently lowered himself to the ground, dashing through the burning temple of the sages as the Bell Tower gave one last keening wail, its middle support pillar cracking in two and sending the rest of the once mighty edifice to the ground with a roar, blowing up a massive dustcloud as it happened.

The centre of the city was now the location of the battle. The Grunts were facing the gym leaders and the other trainers, attacks getting deflected into homes and causing more damage. The airship was climbing into the air, the smoke obscuring it from view as the entire city became a battleground. Raikou then pulled Zapdos down on top of the Pokémon centre, destroying the building. Zapdos got to his feet and let out a vicious Thunder, shattering windows and sending people diving for cover. Battles raged all around and then Giovanni was in the middle of it all, rallying the Rockets. Next thing, Sharia landed on Hydreigon and cast a wreath of flame at her opponents, forcing the rallying Rockets backwards. The battles continued, the main heroes of both sides going at it, with Giovanni and Sharia sending streams of fire and earth at one another while the Executives and Sharia's supporters battled it out. Gold had rallied his two captured dogs, with Entei and Suicune standing on a pile of rubble each, sending attacks at the increasingly agitated birds.

All around them, thunder, rain and hail continued to beat down. High up in this storm, Lugia and Ho-oh were still battling, Silver hanging on for dear life as they did so.

Meanwhile down on the ground, massive towers of flame leapt up, trying to smite down Giovanni, while massive holes opened in the earth, determined to throw Sharia down them. Smoke was everywhere and awry attacks were destroying what was left of the city. Most of the remaining inhabitants had fled already, bound for either Mahogany Town, Violet City or Olvine City. Fires were ripping through the fragile buildings that remained, and Pokémon were being slammed into the other ones. Raikou then leapt up at Zapdos, determined to bring down his rival. However, this time the Thunder Dog had mistimed his attack, and Moltres took advantage, a Fire Blast crashing into him, sending him spiralling into one of the remaining homes.

"Ho-oh, Raikou's in trouble!" Silver yelled, seeing all three birds lock on to the weakened dog, who was shaking off the rubble from his fur.

Ho-oh gave a cry of fury and the rainbow bird abandoned her battle with Lugia, swooping down and scattering them all as she slammed into Zapdos, making Silver's teeth rattle as she did so. She landed right in front of Raikou, who looked up at Silver searchingly as the birds scattered. He then nodded, and leapt for Silver, and Silver's Master Ball hit him in the belly, capturing their last legend.

Giovanni yelled in fury, and recalled all his supporters to him, with his four legends swirling around in the air above him.

"Make them suffer!" he roared, and he levelled out his hands, slowly pulling them apart.

As he did so, the ground began to rock and shake violently. Windows started to rattle and they were struggling to keep their balance as the ground rocked and swayed beneath them. Sharia realised with a curse what he was doing, looking around anxiously as a massive chasm opened behind them, expanding quickly.

"He's using Fissure! Move!" she barked, and with that the entire thing fell into chaos, as she set a ball of fire at Giovanni which slammed into his chest and sent him spiralling back through the air.

At the same time however, the remaining Rockets had their Pokémon open up with attacks, stopping Sharia's supporters getting into the air and out of harm's way. The fissure kept expanding, a massive hole that houses were beginning to drop into, along with the remains of the gym, centre and dance studio, all falling with deafening roars. Red and Charizard were trapped against a building by thunderbolts from Zapdos and water blasts from Lambda's Gyrados. The others were in similar shape, none of them able to get out of harm's way and they were rapidly running out of room to run to. Clair and Jasmine were about to lose their footing and Blue was struggling to reach his girlfriend before she fell.

Gold patted Suicune's side, and the water dog gave a roar, and the three dogs opened up with their strongest attacks, scattering the Rockets Pokémon and giving the others the opportunity they needed. Red leapt onto Charizard just as the mart fell to the ground in front of them, and they breathed a sigh of relief. Silver was helping Pryce and the Kimono girls to safety, using Steelix as a bridge, but that wasn't going to hold out for much longer. Sharia's fliers were allowing people onto them as the others all made a desperate escape, as all of Ecruteak started to topple into the fissure. Silver, who had left Ho-oh to allow her to let others escape was on the back of Raikou now, and was looking around anxiously, and he saw Sharia heading towards Giovanni as the others got to the air.

"Take out the airship! Now!" she yelled, and her Pokémon turned, their strongest attacks blowing through the engines that were keeping the mighty craft afloat.

The massive airship, which had been relatively uneventful until then, exploded, smoke and flame billowing from five engines. Grunts lept out of it, parachutes deploying as they did so as they escape the doomed vessel. The airship began to plummet and it slammed into Route 37, scattering wild Pokémon and trees into the air, with trainers ducking and hoping for the best as tons of metal ripped up the earth around them, trees catching fire as it churned up the earth. Giovanni gave a cry of fury and ran away from it, but not before meeting his mother, who narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"You go too far Giovnani." She said, readying herself to strike.

"No mother, you do not go far enough!" he sneered and a massive whirlwind shot from his hand and Sharia gave a cry as she was blown off the rapidly eroding edge and sent hurtling towards the centre of the fissure, falling down the massive hole.

"Sharia!" Silver yelled in panic.

He had just found out who she really was, he wasn't going to let her die now, he wasn't going to let Giovanni take away someone else he cared about...

Ignoring a cackling Giovanni, who was heading for safety in Route 42 with the other Rockets, Silver kicked Raikou's sides and the thunder dog ran around the edge of the fissure, which was still expanding, and concentrating with all his might, he willed two strong green vines to leap from his hands. The two vines shot downwards and wrapped around Sharia's body, and Silver held on for dear life but he wasn't going to save her and himself. Then, he felt a strong, warm hand around his other, holding him steady, and with all his might, he pulled and Sharia, using a whirlwind which she sent downwards, buffeted herself up and spiralled high into the air. Giving a whistle on the way up, Hydreigon, who had deposited his original passengers in Route 38, shot into the air and she landed gracefully behind his centre head.

Sharia nodded at Silver, and closed her eyes before a massive torrent of water erupted from each hand, soaking the edges of the fissure, stopping its expansion. Route 37 was saved, and getting the idea, Suicune and Silver lent a hand, stopping the fissure from expanding to take in Route 38 and 42. The fissure finally stopped expanding, and with that it was over. The fissure then started to shrink, and a few minutes of awed silence later, the fissure had completely healed, leaving only a flat piece of land, with no indication that Ecruteak city had ever been there at all. Sharia landed, and the two boys approached her with the dogs, just as Ho-oh led the way for the others to come back in to where the city had once stood.

Sharia looked around and saw to her satisfaction that they had all survived. Although many of them looked the worst for wear, they were alright, which was what mattered. Ho-oh settled down to the ground, gave a curt nod to Red's Charizard and then cawed in mourning of the city she had once protected. They all looked around in numb shock, standing where many building had once stood, and now all that there was was freshly tilled earth.

"This is why Abilitors do not fight very often Silver." Sharia muttered as she looked around.

They then heard a gloating laugh, and they looked up to see Giovanni, atop of Lugia with the rest of his executives.

"A battle well fought mother dear! But you haven't won this battle yet! Until next time mother dear!" he cried and the birds followed Lugia and him away.

Sharia cursed as her son made his escape. However, despite the destruction of the city, it had technically been a victory, with their side attaining four of their own legends. But now, they needed leadership. Which meant she had to decide what the hell to do next.

She felt someone poking her irritably, and she turned to see an angry looking Morty.

"This better not go on my record." He said firmly, and she couldn't quite stop a small smile.

"No it wont go on your record as you being the man who let Ecruteak city get destroyed. Now people, I know you all have questions, you most of all probably Silver, but we need to make our next move. We need a base." She said, and Chuck stepped forward.

"We can head to Cianwood if you like. Nothing to stop us now, the Rockets either wound up here or fled towards Mahogany. We can defend there pretty easily, its got room for tents and stuff..." he said, and she nodded.

"Thank you Chuck. You heard the man, lets head for Cianwood. Then, we can discuss our next move." She said, climbing back on to Hydreigon.

"And other things." Red said, and Sharia shot him a cold look which to his credit he didn't flinch from. They all wanted answers, she knew. But frankly, she was too exhausted to care.

And her grandson came first.

He was sitting on the back of Raikou, determinedly avoiding the eye contact of everyone else, including Gold, who was on the back of Suicune, looking worriedly at Silver. Heaving a sigh, and knowing that however exhausted she was from that battle, which she was, the hardest physical battle she had ever fought, she knew the battle to come in Cianwood would be even worse. And she wasn't talking about any Rocket remnants that might be there.

Climbing back onto Hydreigon, and watching Silver climb back onto Ho-oh, which she suspected was a ploy to get away from talking to Gold and the others, she motioned and their group, fleshed out by the three sages and the Kimono girls, along with the gym leaders, they headed out for their new temporary home.

**I'm back in business! God its been a while since I updated anything, sorry for the delay.**

**However, straight back into Pokemon, as I;ve been playing White recently. So we finally have some legends on our side, and Shaira and Silver's secret have been revealed. And what's more, Silver and Gold have admitted they love each other, and things are about to get difficult.**

**Now, knowing what happened in Japan recently I appreicate Ecruteak's fate may seem slightly insensitive, but I promise that I had this written by the time of the earthquake I was just doing some bits and bobs to finish it off, but apologies if it causes any offence.**

**So what will happen next? Which legend will we meet next? Next chapter will leave the lives of two of our heroes hanging in the balance, along with dealing with the fallout from Ecruteak. But until then, please read and review!**


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